3

Vol.

March 2017

Table of ContentsVol. 3 issued March 2017

I. Selected students’ Papers ............................................................................................. 1
1 Carada, Miriam Caryl “Indigenous People (IP) within a Managed
Ecotourism Business: A Case Study of the Pamulaklakin Forest
Trail (PFT) in the Philippines” ............................................................................ 1
2 Liu Xiao “A Study of Pro-Poor Tourism in China” ........................................... 27
3 Suarez, Beverly, et al “The role of solar photovoltaic power plants
in Philippine energy production” ....................................................................... 51

II. GRM Global Career Development Program Report ................................................. 63
1. Seeking New Working Environments for PhD Students:
The GRM Career Development Program in the Balkans [Danismaz Idiris]...... 63
2. Students’ Reports................................................................................................ 69
2.1 Private Sector Group .................................................................................. 69- Carada, Miriam Caryl .............................................................................. 69- Kotera, Ai................................................................................................. 73- Nakagawa, Masao .................................................................................... 75
2.2. International Organization Group .............................................................. 77- Ohashi, Tasuku ........................................................................................ 77- Sabur, Ekraj ............................................................................................. 81
2.3. Academia Group ........................................................................................ 85- Chen, Yan................................................................................................. 85- Liu, Xiao .................................................................................................. 89

Selected students’ Papers

Indigenous People (IP) within a Managed Ecotourism Business:
A Case Study of the Pamulaklakin Forest Trail (PFT) in the Philippines
Miriam Caryl Carada

ABSTRACTThe Philippines is comprised of 7107 islands, each of which has a rich and diverse
flora and fauna. This biodiversity is mainly appreciated by both locals and foreign
visitors through ecotourism activities. In 2015, the Department of Tourism (DOT)
estimated that the number of travelers in the country was as many as 38 million (acombination of foreign and local travelers and the Filipinos working overseas). The
country remains popular with travelers despite facing some difficulties. In the 2014
World Risk Report of the UNU, the Philippines placed second after Vanuatu out of 173
countries in terms of natural disaster risk. Philippines experience earthquakes, floods,
volcanic eruptions, and typhoons. The Pamulaklakin Forest Trail, in the province ofZambalez, is in itself a case of an ecotourism business that was conceived as part of therecovery and reconstruction plans after there was a major eruption at Mt. Pinatubo 1991,
and after the United States forces abandoned its naval base in the area. Furthermore, theinitiative serves as a resilience strategy for the community the indigenous people (IP)called the Aeta.. The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), a government owned
and controlled corporation (GOCC), managed the Pamulaklakin Trail from its
foundation in 1992 until the Aetas claimed ownership of the land in 2009 as part of theirancestral domain. One of the reasons that they decided in 2013 to manage the
Pamulaklakin Trail was that the area is part of the tribe’s homeland. This article will
discuss the sustainability of the ecotourism business of the Pamulaklakin Forest Trail(PFT), and its contribution to the resilience of the community. Field visits, including site
observations and interviews with the community and staff of the SBMA, were conductedalong with the gathering of secondary data. All of the data was summarized andanalyzed using the business model canvas, SWOT and triple bottom line analysis.
Findings indicate that there is a link between business sustainability and community
resiliency, especially in terms of economic resiliency. However, the future sustainabilityof the business management of the tribe is in doubt as there is no business plan,
marketing plan, or financial model for the business. There is also a question of thecapacity of the tribe to manage the business, and there is the need for more collaboration
with the SBMA in regard to management guidance. In terms of resilience, there is asignificant positive impact on social resiliency, and contributions being made toenvironmental management and preservation for disaster resiliency, but there is hardly

12

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

any contribution by the business to economic resiliency.
Keywords: Ecotourism, Business Management, Indigenous People, Sustainability,
Resilience

Table of Contents
Abstract ……………………………………………………………………… 1
Table of contents …………………………………………………………… 2
List of Acronyms …………………………………………………………… 3
I. Introduction ………………………………………………………………… 4
II. Background of the study …………………………………………………… 5
III. Tourism activity and general features ……………………………………… 7
IV. Tourism management ……………………………………………………… 9
A. Management of the SBMA ……………………………………………… 10
B. Management of the Aeta Tribe ………………………………………… 12
V. Analysis ……………………………………………………………………… 16
A. Business Sustainability ………………………………………………… 16
B. Community Resilience …………………………………………………… 19
VI. Conclusion …………………………………………………………………… 21
VII. Recommendation …………………………………………………………… 22
References …………………………………………………………………… 25

Selected students’ Papers

List of Acronyms
CATD
DOT
GOCC
IP
JMA
NCIP
NGO
PFT
PHIVOLCSPHPSBDRRMC
SBMA
TIEZA
UNU

Certificate of Ancestral Domain
Department of Tourism
Government owned and Controlled Corporation
Indigenous People
Joint Management Agreement
National Commission on Indigenous People
Non-government Organizations
Pamulaklakin Forest Trail
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology
Philippine Peso
Subic Bay disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority
Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority
United Nations University3

4

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

I. Introduction
Natural disasters are very common in the Philippines, and the country ranks second
after Vanuatu in 2014 in the World Risk Report of the United Nations University (UNU)
under the category of risk of natural hazards. The Philippines lies in the Pacific Plate, theRing of Fire and the Typhoon Belt, and is also vulnerable to earthquakes, volcanic
activities, typhoons, and even tsunamis, as it is an archipelago of 7,107 islands.
Despite its vulnerability to natural disasters, the Philippines remain a popular
tourist destination. According to the 2015 report of the Philippine Department ofTourism (DOT), there were 38 million tourists (foreign, local, and overseas Filipino
workers) in the country that year. Tourists frequent the country as it is a showcase ofnatural treasures and is known to be one of the most ecologically diverse countries in theworld. Tourists usually enjoy the beauty of The Philippines through ecological tourism,
or what is commonly called ecotourism. This tourism niche has been defined in thecontext of the Philippines as “a form of tourism within a natural and cultural heritage
area where community participation, protection and management of natural resources,
culture, indigenous knowledge and practices, environment education, and ethics, as wellas economic benefits, are fostered and perused for the enrichment of host communities
and the satisfaction of visitors.”
This article will discuss the Pamulaklakin Forest trail (PFT), which is one of themany ecotourism destinations in the Philippines. The PFT is located in the municipalityof Subic within the Subic Bay Freeport Zone (FPZ) in the province of Zambales, which
is a former US Naval base. The Subic Bay PFZ has been created though the Republic
Act No. 7227 commonly called the Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992.
The PFZ covers 67,000 hectares of land, and is being developed as a self-sustaining
tourism, industrial, commercial, financial, and investment center managed and operated
by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), which is a government owned andcontrolled corporation (GOCC).
The PFT is a unique ecotourism destination, not only in Subic, but also in the wholeof the Philippines, as it is the only ecotourism site that is managed by a group ofindigenous people who hold a clean title of the land where they are conducting theirecotourism business. It should also be noted that the PFT covers part of the home of thetribe. Although the business was initially managed by the SBMA for about 20 years, thecommunity, the Aeta tribe, was granted ownership of the land and decided to take overmanagement of the area in 2013. The PFT can therefore be classified as community
based ecotourism, yet it is an exceptional case since the community comprises of theAeta, an indigenous group of people. The group is one of the hundred groups ofindigenous peoples in the Philippines, and is a particularly special tribe since it is one of
the first, if not the first, inhabitants of the Philippines. The Aeta are traditionally aSelected students’ Papers

hunting / gathering people, making them highly skilled in jungle survival.
The development of the PTF is unlike that of other tourism destinations as the PFT
is a part of a former United States Naval base. In 1991, Mt. Pinatubo erupted which
affected the base and resulted in the forces choosing to leave. The Filipino government
was concerned that the facilities at the base would be looted and completely destroyed,
and so developed the area and converted it into a PFZ. The PFT, which was part of the
training grounds of the American Naval force, was subsequently developed into an
ecotourism destination. The development of the area is mainly due to two reasons – theBases Conversion and Development Act of 1992, and the reconstruction and recovery of
the area due to the natural disaster. The development of the area is also geared towards
helping the Aeta community to become resilient, especially economically.
Twenty-five years after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, the Aeta tribe is now
managing the PFT. This article discusses the management style and the businessstrategies of the tribe, as well the sustainability of the business. The question of whether
the Aeta tribe has gained resiliency in their management of the ecotourism business israised through examination of the various impacts of the business on the community.
Field visits, including site observations and interviews with the community, Aeta guides
and staff of the SBMA, were performed to complement the gathering of secondary data.
There was one limitation on the data gathering: the treasury department could not be
accessed and so the data on the exact profits of the PFT was not obtained. Data wassummarized and analyzed using the business model canvas, SWOT, and triple bottom
line analysis. The business model canvas, which shows 9 building blocks of a business,
is used to understand the strategy and management of the Aeta tribe. From the findingsof the business model canvas, a SWOT and triple bottom line (social, economic, andenvironmental impact) analysis was created to understand and explain the businesssustainability and the contribution of the business to the resilience of the community.
II. BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
To be able to clearly understand the case of the PFT, it is crucial to first discuss theland development in Subic. The rich history of Subic dates back to the development of
the Subic Bay in the 1800s when the Philippines became a colony of Spain, right up
until the successful land claim in 2009 by the Aeta tribe due to Subic being theirancestral domain.
During the colonization of the Spaniards, Subic Bay was developed as a naval
fortress due to its strategic location and the natural depth of the harbor. In 1898, theTreaty of Paris was signed which ceded the Philippines from Spain to America. 1899
was the beginning of the Philippine-American war, and Subic Bay was transformed into
one of the biggest American Naval Base overseas, where it was used as a supply and5

6

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

repair depot. As the base included the home of the Aeta tribes (which includes thecurrent PFT site), the development of the base forced the tribes to retreat deeper into theforest.
Following the signing of the Treaty of Manila in 1946, the Philippines were granted
full independence from America. In 1947, the Philippines and the United States signed a
Military Base Agreement/ Military Assistance Agreement that established a Joint UnitedStates Military Advisory Group to advise and train Filipino armed forces in thetransferring of aid and other material. The home of the Aeta tribe remained part of thebase, but some parts were now used as a training ground for the soldiers. The American
forces surveyed the area, dug deeper into the forest and discovered the presence of the
Aeta tribe. While the American forces wanted to learn more about the tribe and their wayof life, the tribe was initially hesitant to make contact with American forces due to theirforeignness. However, as the tribe grew accustomed to the presence of the American
forces, they eventually became quite familiar with their culture, and according to the
Aeta, they established good relations with the Americans. The tribe was allowed to use
the base facilities, including the hospital and food and shoes were also given to the tribe.
Both parties shared a feast every Christmas, and the tribesmen were given gifts. It can besaid that the Aeta and the American forces established a mutual relationship, with the
Aetas benefitting from the use of some facilities and the aid that was provided, while theAmericans bought goods such as crabs or fruit and learned jungle survival techniquesfrom the Aeta.
In 1991, the Philippines suffered one of the biggest natural disasters in its history
when Mt. Pinatubo erupted. The eruption damaged and killed crops in the surroundingarea due to the 5cm thick ash deposits over a land area of about 4000 sq. km. The
eruption was followed by a typhoon, and then a series of earthquakes and aftershocks
that caused roofs to collapse. The series of disaster caused the death of 700 people and200,000 more became homeless. The US base was also affected by the eruption and thefacilities were damaged.
Negotiations were already in place to renew the treaty of Manila that was about to
end in 1992, but the disaster caused the United States to decide to abandon the 89-year
old base. As the Filipino government was worried that the 8,000,000Php (160,000USD)
worth of infrastructure left behind would be looted and totally destroyed, the base wasconverted into a Freeport Zone. This was done via the Republic Act No. 7227,
establishing the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) which aims to promote anddevelop the Subic Special Economic Zone/ Freeport Zone into a self-sustaining,industrial, commercial, financial, and investment center for the generation of
employment opportunities in and around the zone, and to attract and promote productive
foreign investments.

Selected students’ Papers

The SBMA was established before the exit of the American forces, and the future of
the Aeta tribe was discussed by the SBMA chairman, Mr. Richard Gordon, and some of
the American forces. As the American forces had good relations and understanding of
the way of life of the tribe, they requested that the SBMA help the Aeta and not relocate
them. During the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the naval base, a portion of the landthat covers the home of the Aetaa part of what they call the village of Pamulaklakin, wasconverted to an ecotourism destination. The area is now known as the “Pamulaklakin
Forest Trail.” Pamulaklakin means “herbal vine” in the Aeta language.
The ecotourism business began operation after a period of two months during
which utility lines (electricity and phone) were installed, and a small one story
administration office made of concrete and several cottages made of wood wereconstructed. The first tourists/customers were groups of school children that came bybus. From the interview conducted with an Aeta guide, it was learned that they were
overwhelmed by this unexpected sudden influx of people. This was due to them nothaving been given proper training on how to deal with them, and they were also not told
to guide the tourists in exploring the area and to share their knowledge about life in thejungle until the tourists had actually arrived.
In 1997, the Filipino government passed into law the Republic Act No. 8371. Thisis also called the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act, and is popularly known as the IPRA.
The law recognizes, protects and promotes the rights of Indigenous People in thePhilippines. One of the reform processes of the IPRA is the awarding of ancestral
domain and land titles to indigenous communities, while protecting them in theirancestral lands. Following the passing of the IPRA, the Aeta tribe claimed the area of
Subic as their ancestral domain, and was subsequently granted 4,280 ha of land in 2009.
This area not only covers the village of Pamulaklakin and the PFT, but also most of theFree Port Zone. Although the land has been claimed by the tribe, it is still co-managed
by the SBMA. In September 2011, the tribe chief-in (leader), the SBMA chairman andthe director of the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) signed a joint
management agreement authorizing the SBMA to provide systematic management anddevelopment of the ancestral land to help boost the economic, social and cultural life of
the tribe based on programs implemented by the government. Despite this, in 2013, thetribal council decided to take over the management of the PFT.
III. TOURISM ACTIVITY AND GENERAL FEATURES
There are other ecotourism destinations within the Subic area, such as the
Mangrove Park where tourists can take a small boat to observe the mangroves, theJungle Environmental Survival Training (JEST) Camp where tourists are offered aselection of tourist activities including jungle training, and the Apaliin forest trail, which

78

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

is a hiking path for tourists. However, the PFT is special as it is a track that is off thebeaten and leads deep into the jungle and the mountains of Subic. By visiting the PFT,
tourists can visit the place where the Aeta reside, and learn jungle survival techniques
directly from the Aeta. It is also a place where customers can experience the natural
beauty of landscapes and clean rivers giving customers the option to camp, picnic and/or
take a dip in the clear waters. The PFT is open to the general public at very attractive
rates (Table 1).
Table 1. Package and rates at the PFT.

PACKAGEPRICE IN
PHILIPPINEPESO (PHP)
Note: 1USD ≈50PHPACTIVITY

Sight Seeing

50 / adult and child(1 USD)- Visiting of vantage points in the area and taking
pictures- Includes a native guide

Mini Jungle
tour

100 / adult and child(2 USD)-Trekking in the forest in Subic Bay with a native
guide and a demonstration on how to survive in thejungle. (The tour lasts for 30 mins.)

Ecology tour

250 / adult (5 USD)
250 / child (5 USD)

-A two to three hour trek in the Subic forest with an
Aeta guide

Overnight
Jungle tour

500/adult and child(10 USD)
Note: additional 50/
head (1 USD) for
succeeding nights-Venturing into and sleeping right in the heart of the
Subic Forest and discover how the natives of Subic
survive in the forest(Picnic 50/adult and child)

Picnic Table

150/ table (3 USD)

Locationshooting andteam building

15,000 / day(300 USD)

There are three tours offered in the PFT, from a 30-minute tour to an overnight
jungle tour/camp. A sightseeing option is available which comprises a viewing of thegrounds under the supervision of an Aeta guide. Special packages are also offered forlocation shooting (for photoshoots, movies or commercials) and team building events.
Picnic tables that can be set up near the river are also available for rent.
The structure of the PFT is simple. The jungle itself has not been changed, but someforms of infrastructure and facilities have been built near the entrance. A small sign andan information board displaying the tour options have been positioned at the entrance toSelected students’ Papers

Figure 1. PFT Facilities.

the site. Adjacent to the signboards is the reception area where customers can rest while
making payments for the tours. Jungle survival demonstrations are also sometimes
performed in this area. There is a small multipurpose hut where tickets for the tour canbe purchased, and small souvenir shops that are owned by individual members of thecommunity. The hut also has a phone line and a medicine box. A few meters from thesouvenir shop is the administration building that is used by the SBMA employees.
Between the administration building and the multipurpose hut is a bridge that leads tothe jungle. Not for away from the bridge is the picnic area with a grill.
IV. TOURISM MANAGEMENTThe PFT has been under two different managements, beginning with the SBMA in
1992, and with the Aeta tribe taking over in 2013. To discover how the PFT has been andis being managed, key informant interviews (KII), focus group discussions (FGD),
personal observations, and desk reviews have been conducted. During the analysis, nineelements were considered and were summarized to create a ‘business model canvas’.
The nine elements of the canvas and a short description of the elements is as follows:(1) Customer segment – Which customers are being served?
(2) Value proposition – What services and/or products are being offered to thecustomers?
(3) Channels – How is the customer reached and through which interaction points?
(4) Customer relationship – What relationships are being established with eachcustomer segment?

910

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3(5) Revenue streams – What services and/or products are the customers willing to
pay for?
(6) Key resources – Which resources underpin the business model and which assets
are essential?
(7) Key activities – Which activities are being implemented for the business toperform well?
(8) Key partners – Who are the partners?
(9) Cost structure – Which key elements drive costs?
A. Management of the SBMA
The development of the PFT is part of the SBMA strategy for the recovery andreconstruction of the area after the United States Forces left their base following the
expiration of the Manila Treaty and the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. Another aim of thedevelopment is to help ensure the continuation of the Aeta tribe. No concrete businessplan has been created by the SBMA for the PFT, but the business has been summarized
in the above business model canvas (Figure 2).
As can be seen from the business model canvas, the target customer segments (i.e.
tourists) for the PFT consist of groups of students, families, and other small groups. ThePFT offers their customers exposure to, enjoyment of and learning about the natural

Figure 2. Business model under SBMA management.

Selected students’ Papers

environment (including hiking, camping, and picnics), interaction with the Aeta tribe andlearning about the way of life in the jungle. Student groups around Subic frequently visit
the PFT to learn about nature and the tribe; whereas families visit to enjoy nature andhave picnics, and other small groups usually hike and camp deep in the forest.
Customers are reached through different channels of the SBMA. In general, SBMA
promotes and markets the PFT and other tourist attractions within the free port zone withthe aid of the Tourism Department. In the case of the PFT, the tourism department
produces and distributes leaflets about the destination. Information about the PFT is also
posted on the SBMA’s official page. As it is the primary customer access point, it isimportant that the SBMA takes good care of the customers and establishes a personal
relationship. This ensures greater customer satisfaction, and makes it more likely that
customers create further business through word-of-mouth recommendations.
As the PFT is a revenue generating business, the management collects fees fordifferent services (as shown in Table 1). While there are several small snacks andsouvenirs stores on the site, they are individually owned. There is also no fee for using
the hut so the stores or the hut do not contribute to the profit of the site.
In delivering service to the customers, it is important to identify the assets, or key
resources of the site. The main assets are: nature, infrastructure, and the Aeta. Of thethree, the Aeta tribe is a particularly important asset since many tourists come to the area
to interact with and get to know one of the world’s most famous tribes and one of thefirst inhabitants of the Philippines. In addition to this, a number of groups come to thearea to learn about the natural environment, thus making nature an important asset of the
PFT. While the infrastructure is fairly limited, it does contribute to the PFT’s revenue
collection. The SBMA management has tasked the Aeta with the training of the Aeta
guides and the everyday cleaning in order to maintain the site’s assets and deliver good
service to the customers. Training is performed with the help of several organizations.
One of these is the Ecology Department that provides technical training to the Aeta, suchas identification of the plants and animals within the PFT and their corresponding names
in English.
Several institutions, and specially the Aeta tribe, work as part of the SBMA in the
management of the business. One of these is the Tourism Department of the SBMA thatis involved in the marketing and promotion of the destination. Another body is the
Ecology department, which as mentioned above, provides training for the Aeta. A further
entity is the treasury department, which manages profit.
Like any other business, there are costs in the delivery of the service and themaintenance of the assets, as well as generated revenue. The cost structure is notcomplicated and mainly comprises of the salaries of the around 60 Aeta guides andutility bills.

11

12

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

Construction and development of the PFT was performed a year after the eruptionof Mt. Pinatubo in parallel with other reconstruction efforts in the free port zone. The
development of the area was conducted quickly without any concrete business or
management plan. Furthermore, although the infrastructure is simple, no proper
maintenance procedures were set up. The relationship between the Aeta and the SBMA
was also not determined. The aim of the development of the area is to help the Aeta to beresilient, yet an assessment of the business management shows that the site is fully
managed by the SBMA, with the tribe serving as employees and not taking
responsibility for any part of the business management.
B. Management of the Aeta Tribe
The Aeta Tribe was granted ownership of 4,280ha of their ancestral domain(including parts of the Freeport zone) in 2009. Having ownership of the land means
having the authority to decide upon land management. The majority of the land wasleased to private and multinational companies, as well as the SBMA. A tribal council,
which consists of councilors and the chief-in (Table 2) decided to vote on the
management of the PFT, and this resulted in the decision to take over. One of the reasonsfor this decision to take over the management of the site is that the PFT is part of thevillage of Pamulaklakin, which serves as the home of the tribe. The transition was madein November 22, 2013, making the site the only ecotourism destination in Subic that is
not managed by the SBMA, and the only one in the Philippines that is managed by agroup of indigenous people with a clean title of the land.
The business model canvas of the Aeta tribe management is summarized in Figure
4. The change in management shift didn’t result in major changes in the value offered or
the operation, as the target customers and the services being delivered were maintained.
Although it is not reflected in the new business model canvas, the change did weakensome channels, particularly the role of the SBMA, which used to be the main vehicle ofpromotion. Nowadays, SBMA still provides potential customers with information,
however when customers enquire about the site, PFT is still listed in the official SBMA
site, but the only details included are the address and phone number. The tourism

Table 2. Tribal council members.

Selected students’ Papers

department (DOT) doesn’t produce brochures for the site, and has instead placed moreemphasis and energy on the promotion of other sites in the area. In the advancement oftechnology and the increasing interest of young people in sharing their adventures withothers, new channels for the PFT have been created. Customers have now become partof these channels by using social media to spread the word about PFT. This provides
more information to the customers than the traditional channels of the PFT were able to
do. The new channels are as follows:● Facebooko Pamulaklakin Forest Trail, Subic Freeport Zone (tourist attraction) – unofficial.
No information is provided, just ratingso Pamulaklakin Forest Trail (outdoors) - unofficial. No information is provided,just a few star ratings with comments● Trip Advisoro Pamulaklakin Forest Trail- reviews, photos, contact details <https://www.
tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g4751237-d3694404-Reviews-Pamulaklakin_Forest_Trail-Subic_Bay_Freeport_Zone_Central_Luzon_Region_
Luzon.html>
o Trip Report – Pamulaklakin Trail – Subic Bay – How to get there, Cost,
Activities <https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g424959-i9205-k5960
827-Trip_report_Pamulaklakin_trail_Subic_bay-Subic_Zambales_Province_
Central_Luzon_Region_Luzon.html>● Blogs and Other Sources of Informationo Pamulaklakin forest Trails/Pastolan Aeta Village – address, star ratings, andbrief description of the area < http://greatersubic.com/index.php/directorylistings/things-to-do/74-pamulaklakin-forest-trails-pastolan-aeta-village>o Heart Warming Encounter at Pamulaklakin Village - blog made in 2013providing details of a project held on the site <https://jackinetic.wordpress.
com/2013/03/26/heart-warming-encounter-at-pamulaklakin-village/>o Pamulaklakin Forest Trail – a blog by a student in the form of a project which
provides details of the tour package, rates, locations, contacts, and the Aeta
management <http://pamulak.tumblr.com/>o Aeta Tribal Village – A Photographic Tour – Subic Bay – Luzon Island,
Philippines; Photographs by Joseph S. Palmer. It includes photos of the
Pamulaklakin train and the neighboring village of Pamulaklakin <http://
backroadsamerica.blogspot.jp/2011/05/aeta-tribal-village-photographic-tour.
html>
There are two existing pages about the PFT on Facebook. Existing reviews of the PFT
can also be found on the American travel website Trip Advisor. There are also blogs that

13

14

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

Figure 3. Facility upgrades.

share information and the travel experiences of people who have visited the PFT.
The value proposition of PFT remains unchanged. However, the relationshipbetween the customers and the management has become more of a dedicated personal
relationship. Under the new format, the customers mainly contact the Aeta directly
without going through the SBMA. When they arrive at the destination, the Aeta
welcomes the customers and deliver the value proposition. There are no changes interms of the revenue streams as revenues still come exclusively from tour fees.
Despite pointing out that the area is their home and that they know how to manage
the land, it has to be said that the Aeta tribe are only replicating the way SBMA had
managed PFT. The main issue is that there is still no concrete business plan, and key
activities have not changed, although facilities have been upgraded. Construction of new
infrastructure such as pavilions, toilets, and showers is taking place, however someinfrastructures that had been used previously by the SBMA, such as the administrativebuilding, are no longer being utilized. The main maintenance activity is still only
cleaning, including the regular sweeping of the grounds.
Furthermore, the facility upgrades are mainly executed by the partners, and so thebusiness acquired more partners/supporters, mainly foreign and local individuals, thatmade upgrades possible. It is through private contributions that the site was able toafford the construction of a new gazebo, a function hall, and toilet and shower rooms(Figure 3). Partnership with the SBMA is minimal, but there are still good connections
with the Ecology Department. The Aeta are well versed in the ways of the jungle such as
issues relating to conservation, the use of plants and trees, and banning the consumption
and hunting of specific animals. A partnership still exists with the treasury department,
an Aeta is designated to collect fees and list customers coming in into a log book. The
money collected is delivered to the treasury department and the profit that remains isdeposited to the Aeta account. In addition to the partners, there are schools anduniversities that conduct projects on the PFT. One of the nearby universities has set up a
project for the women of the tribe, and the school has provided the tribe with an ovenSelected students’ Papers

within the PFT site. There are also occasional reading programs for the young children.
As mentioned previously, the revenue stream hasn’t changed, although additions
have been made to the cost structure. A new regulation was implemented by the SBMAin 2014. The regulation stipulates that all tourist facilities shall pay the Environment andTourism Administrative Fee (ETAF), which is either 20php per visitor or 10% of the
fixed entrance rate of a facility. The tribe also mentioned that they pay about 20% of
their profits to the bank for a loan from the SBMA to develop some of the facilities inthe site before the takeover of management, and an additional 5% of the profits goes totax. The service costs of the tribesmen/guides have been removed from the cost
structure, while the profit of the PFT (the amount deposited by the treasury department
to the tribes account) minus the utility fees is divided equally among the tribesmen.
Another driver in the decision by the tribe to take over the management is that in
the SBMA management, some tribesmen felt that they were not given enough tasks andthat they could do more. However, the PFT still has no clear management plan with thecurrent tribal management and the sustainability of the business is at stake. It was alsosuggested by some guides that they don’t earn much and there are fewer visitors coming.
On the other hand, there are facilities that are being constructed and there are still
opportunities with the current business model. It was also concluded from interviews
with some of the Aeta guides that one problem is that there seems to be a lack ofFigure 4. The Business model under tribal management

15

16

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

motivation by the Aeta to improve the business. If not much profit is being made, thereis the feeling that they will go into the mountains and begin farming instead.
V. ANALYSIS
A. BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY
Differences exist between the SBMA and the tribal management of the PFT.
However, as previously mentioned, the focus of this article is to assess the sustainabilityof tribal management and its contribution to the resiliency of the community. One of themost effective ways to assess the business and its sustainability is through theapplication of the business model canvas to the classic SWOT analysis: strength,
weakness, opportunities and threat. SWOT analysis provides these four perspectives
from which elements of the business model can be assessed, allowing the canvas toprovide the focus necessary for a structured decision. The SWOT analysis mainly asks
four questions. The first two questions are related to the strength and weakness, which
are used to assess the business internally, while the other two questions are: What
opportunities does the business have? and What are the threats that the business face?,
which assess the business’ position within its environment.
If we apply SWOT analysis to the PFT (figure 5), a number of weakness and threats
become apparent in its management that clearly outnumber the strengths of the business.
On the other hand, there are a number of opportunities that the business is not currently
exploiting. For example, the value propositions or the service offered by the PFT, such

Figure 5. PFT SWOT analysis.

Selected students’ Papers

as the jungle survival techniques, can be franchised, although it should be stressed thatthe jungle survival techniques in PFT are currently being taught directly by the Aeta.
Another alternative is that a number of tourism destinations around Subic possess more
and advanced facilities, services, and infrastructure. Furthermore, the PFT has been
adding/upgrading their infrastructure to improve comfort for customers. Though there
are fewer services offered at PFT, one strength is that it has a very competitive andattractive price structure. PFT also enables customers to enjoy and experience the natural
beauty of nature under the care of the Aeta guides. However, natural environment cannot
always be easily accessed, whereas with PFT, although frequented by tour groups orfamilies, individual travelers may expect more facilities (For example, travelers from thecity without vehicles have to take a cab back). The Aeta’s response to such a situation, if
there are such travelers, is to use their phone lines to help the visitors call for a cab when
they finish the tour.
The PFT management also has issues with the maintenance of the environment andinfrastructures. The only key activity that is currently conducted is cleaning. However,there is a clear need to periodically conduct proper maintenance such as checking
infrastructure and conducting repairs once in a while, as well as environmental impact
assessment, specially in relation to the facility upgrades. It has been mentioned that thePhilippines is a disaster vulnerable country and in the Subic area there are persistent
threats of tsunami, earthquakes. This means that there is even more reason for proper
maintenance activities to be implemented. Currently, in an event that a disaster occurs or
if the business is deteriorating, there is no business contingency plan. There is also not asmuch partnership with the SBMA, however, management are able to receive guidanceon proper maintenance and environmental conservation concerns, if required.
Several threats and weaknesses have been discussed, and a number of issues havetheir roots in not having a business plan. One is that this ecotourism venture has beendeveloped rapidly within two months. Although it was developed to help the Aeta
community, it was done with no thought of the vision for the business and its
sustainability. There is also the question on the capacity of the Aeta to manage thebusiness. For this there are no concrete margins and no formal financial plan, and there
are no fees that are dedicated to the service of the guides. There are additional costs, butthere is also a very narrow/ limited source of revenue, which is highly dependent on thetour activities. Margins are not computed, and there haven’t been any changes in thepricing since the business was founded by SBMA management. One of the revenue
streams is the rent of the tables and chairs for picnics which, if not properly maintained,
will in the near future need such repairs that will be beyond the revenue stream of the
PFT. There is also the fact that the partners, i.e. the Aeta, don’t charge individuals who
made donations (infrastructure donations), nor their companions, which may not be

17

18

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

sustainable in the future as it may cause the PFT to lose a large big amount of revenue.
The issue of donations is also a general concern. In the ecotourism business, there isalways the controversy of how much a site should be developed, and the optimal balance
to preserve the natural environment, which the customers enjoy. Donations are warmly
welcomed by the Aeta, but issues on its impact to the environment are not being raised,and also affect the quality of the infrastructure.
There are number of opportunities that could be taken exploited by the Aeta. There
are stores in the PFT, but they are not directly linked with the revenue streams of thebusiness. Sample products are a bamboo flute, a bow and arrow, and some handicrafts.
These products could be incorporated in the value proposition, and could be developed
into new sources of revenue such as teaching customers how to do some handicrafts, or
how to use the bow and arrows. The Aeta could also come to an agreement toincorporate the stores into one, thus enhancing it and making it part of the revenue
stream. Another possibility is for the Aeta to utilize the traditional costume of the tribe,
which some tribesmen still use it in their daily lives. It could be possible for customers
to learn how to put on the traditional costume or even wear it. There are the new toilets
and shower facilities that are being installed, for which a small charge could be levied, or
there could be a change in the pricing scheme of the business. Some of the tribesmen arebeing called to other tourist destinations to perform traditional dances. This option could
be a part of the revenue stream as a special addition to the tour for group visits or study
tours. There is unused infrastructure as the administrative building, and these facilities
could be opened and turned into a visitors’ center or a small gallery about the tribe, orabout the beginnings of the PFT. In the PFT, there is an oven that was donated by auniversity, but the pavilion where it is located is infested with wasps. If pest control werecalled, and there was training on the use of the oven, the Aeta could make bread and sell
it to visitors. This could prove particularly lucrative since there are no stores nearby in
the area. In terms of marketing, there is an option to use technology (digitalizing
information about the PFT) to reach a wider range of customers, but it is doubtful if the
Aeta has the capacity to implement it. There is information on the business that can befound in the internet, but this is insufficient. There are also opportunities to work closer
with partners, for instance the tourism department for the promotion and development of
the area. There is also the ecology department that can contribute to the environmental
impact assessment and the computation of the tourism capacity.
The Aeta could also collaborate more with the SBMA and use their connections andexpertise in the management of the site. A gap was created between the Aeta and the
SBMA when the Aeta decided to take over the management of the PFT, and there was no
consideration of the management transition process of the PFT. As the SBMA governs
the free port area, there is no threat of losing them as partners, and the SBMA actually

Selected students’ Papers

wishes to help the Aeta in the management process, but the Aeta insist on managing theplace independently. One reason behind the strained relations is the difference inperceptions between the SBMA and the Aeta tribe. It is the view of the SBMA that the
Aeta are their partners, and they are managing the PFT to help the tribe. However, it isthe view of some Aeta that the SBMA are not treating them as partners but employees,
and that they are only tasked to be the guides and janitors of the PFT. Nonetheless, theAeta tribe should consider working closer with the SBMA, not to encourage them tomanage the PFT again, but to utilize them as consultants to improve the PFT and toreach out to a wider customer base.
In conclusion, according to SWOT analysis, the PFT business, though currently inoperation, is not sustainable in the long term. The most serious problem is the lack of abusiness plan and appropriate financial business structure. There has been a decline in
the number of visitors since the shift in management, mainly due to insufficient
marketing and promotion of the business. There is also no concrete organizational
structure for the business - there is only a manager and a treasurer/cashier/ticket vendor.
Nonetheless, there is potential for development, as there exists a number of opportunities
that could be exploited, as well as strengths to be highlighted to address theseweaknesses and minimize threats.
B. COMMUNITY RESILIENCYExamining the bearings of the business to the community, especially in terms ofresiliency, the impact of the business to the triple bottom line (social, environmental andeconomic) will now be examined. The community that is directly associated with andaffected by the PFT business is the Aeta tribe because, as already mentioned, the PFT ispart of the village of Pamulaklakin, which is home for about 300 Aeta families.
In relation with social and economic impacts, the community doesn’t solely rely on
the profits of the PFT. A number of Aeta are recruited by the SBMA to work for different
departments, such as in Ecology Department as assessors for the mangrove forest. Equal
opportunities are offered to male and female Aeta, and almost all departments employ atleast one Aeta in their department in the SBMA. Other members of the tribe who are notworking with the SBMA earn their living and survive by farming in the mountains or
fishing in the rivers. In general, the tribe doesn’t have a regular and fixed source ofincome, but instead receives profit from the lease of companies and investors to theirancestral land. In early August 2014, the Ambala tribe, in which the Aeta from
Pamulaklakin village is a part of, received 14,791,440.51php (≈295,829 USD) as
payment of the companies’ lease of their ancestral land. The payment was from the leaseduring May of 2009 until December of 2013. The land, which is part of the free port
zone, covers not only private companies but the Kalayaan and the Binictican housing in

19

20

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

Subic and a number of tourism areas (Apaliin Falls, PFT, and El Kabayo, among others).
This amount has been settled in line with the joint management agreement (JMA), whichstates that 5% of the gross income will be paid by the investors for the rent of the Aeta’s
ancestral land. In addition, each Aeta family is paid 20,000php/year (500 USD/year)
upon receiving the Certificate of Ancestral Domain (CATD).
The PFT consist of about 60 Aeta guides. The guides are part of the community andtheir families are all affected by PFT activities. PFT serves as a channel for people to get
to know and learn about the Aeta tribe, and for the tribe to meet and interact with people
outside their community. The PFT as a venue, not only attracts academic institutions, butalso different non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and civic groups who launch
their projects and training sessions for the community. For instance, the Subic Bay
Photography Society conducts a project called “Read to Lead” where reading is being
promoted to young members of the tribe. The community is also given a chance to create
their own small businesses in PFT- whether it is small souvenir stores or kiosk forsnacks.
It is a fact that there are profits gained from the PFT. Nonetheless, the profit ofguides in PFT as mentioned is not fixed as with SBMA management. For example, there
are several cases where increased costs arise - loan payments, tax payments, and low
fluctuating income. A number of Aeta working in PFT also have other sources ofincome, such as their “gasak,” a small farming land near PFT or deep into the jungle
where they grow their bananas, sweet potatoes, and cassava, while at other times of theyear they trap crabs, shrimp, wild boar, and/or chickens to survive.
Considering the environmental aspect, the SBMA in general is both earthquake andtyphoon prone. There are also areas with tsunami alerts and the local volcano of Mt.
Pinatubo that last erupted in 1991, although it is not currently considered a threat
according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).
However, according to the Subic Bay disaster risk reduction and management council(SBDRRMC), there are no information and clear assessment of the threat of hazards inthe area (hazard maps). Recently, as a celebration for ‘Disaster Consciousness Month’
the council held activities such as an earthquake drill in schools and clean up events, ofwhich the tribes weren’t included. This is unfortunate, because in terms of disasters,
aside from children, elderly, and persons with disabilities, IPs such as the Aeta areamong the most vulnerable groups. It is clear that the PFT, as a tourism destination,
should have a disaster plan for the customers and the community (Aeta that reside in andnear the PFT) in case of typhoons, earthquakes, and cases of landslides in the mountains,
yet there is currently no such plan.
Infrastructure upgrades and addition should also be closely monitored in order tonot disrupt the natural landscape and disrupt the way of living of other Aeta. An

Selected students’ Papers

interview with some Aeta guides indicated that they are hesitant whether if it is a goodthing or not to upgrade and add more infrastructure to the PFT because they feel that thenatural environment is being disrupted.
The Aeta follow certain rules in the forest, which are in harmony with the laws of
the Philippines. One example is limiting the use of forest products. The Aeta are fully
aware that they cannot cut down trees to profit from timber as this might cause
landslides and loss of habitat for forest fauna such as pythons, deer, lizards, wild boar
and monkeys. Tree felling, however, can be done provided permission is granted by theecology department and is for the building of their own shelter. The Aeta also ensure thatpoachers of the aforementioned fauna do not enter the vicinity, and the customers are
kept informed on the regulations in the jungle. Construction of the PFT contributes
greatly in environmental conservation as there would be more chance of illegal logging
and poaching in the area without the PFT.
Although not all community members work directly with the PFT, they are still all
affected by the business since it is likely that one or two of their relatives works in the
PFT and observes close relations within the tribe. Decisions are also made by the tribal
council. In general, the business serves as a channel to connect the community to people
outside their circle, and the environment and serves as an aid for the tribes’ social
resiliency. In terms of biodiversity, the Aeta and other stakeholders are in one mind inregard to conservation and protection. The PFT contributes greatly in contributions tobiodiversity conservation. In relation of the environment and biodiversity, protection andpreservation helps in improving the disaster resilience of the community, specifically interms of disaster mitigation by minimizing the impact of typhoons in the area. However,both the tribe and the visitors are seen to currently be deficient in terms of disaster
resiliency, and in regard to the recovery phase. This is a surprising finding since the PFT
is originally an initiative that was born out of the need for recovery and reconstruction
after a disaster. In terms of economic resiliency, the tribe has its own methods of survivalthat do not depend on profits from the PFT. However, the PFT has the potential to be
developed into being a significant contributor in increasing the economic resiliency ofthe community.
VI. CONCLUSION
Twenty-five years after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, the Aeta tribe of thePhilippines has acquired their ancestral land and is now managing the Pamulaklakin
Forest Trail, or the PFT. In this article, the state of ecotourism management of the Aeta
tribe, its business sustainability and its contribution to community resilience has been
analyzed. It can be seen that the sustainability of the business and the resilience of thecommunity is clearly linked. This is not only the case for the village of Pamulaklakin,

21

22

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

which includes the PFT, but also the community of the Aeta tribe themselves.
From the SWOT analysis that is described above, there is a number of threats andweakness in the business which outnumber the strengths. However, there are a numberof opportunities for the business to flourish, yet, if these are not taken, then while it iscurrently in operation the PFT may not be sustainable in the long term. The biggest
problem is that there is no vision for the business, nor is there any business plan
specifically there is no financial structure. Numbers have been in decline since thetransfer of management to the Aeta tribe and there is also insufficient marketing andpromotion of the PFT. Nonetheless, there remains the potential for development.
Opportunities should be exploited and strengths should be highlighted to address the
weakness and minimize threats. One key to further development is also partnership with
the SBMA.
The PFT improves the social resiliency of the community as it serves as aconnection between the tribe/community and the outsiders/customers/tourists, allowing
them to learn from each other. The PFT also serves as a venue for social activities that
promote capacity development of the Aeta, such as NGO programs in literacy for young
Aeta. One motivation for the development of the site is the eruption of Mount Pinatubo.
Although it was not directly instigated to mitigate volcanic eruption, conservation of the
PFT contributes to the mitigation of other disasters, thus minimizing the impact of
typhoons and reducing the risk of landslides. The PFT also helps prevent illegal logging
and poachers from entering the area. However, the PFT makes no contribution in the
education of the community regarding disasters, and consequently, Aeta knowledge in
response to disaster is still lacking. The PFT therefore has some work to do to help thecommunity become disaster resilient. One of the goals of the development of the PFT isto bring economic resiliency to the community. This issue remains unclear since one of
the limitations of the study was not having access to the exact profits of the business, butinstead relying on the testimonies of the guides about the salary and the profit. One thingis however guaranteed, there is no concrete financial structure of the business, and theguides does not have regular wages, but instead earn an equal share of money from theprofit of the PFT. In short, it is clear that the PFT has a major affect on the resiliency ofthe community.
VII. RECOMMENDATIONS
Several observations have been made in this case study, and the following
recommendations have been made on their basis to increase business sustainability andthe resiliency of the community.
(1) Business development
As repeatedly mentioned, there is a number of weakness and threats in the PFT

Selected students’ Papers

business, and the main root of most of them is the lack of business planning or evena plan at all. The business was rapidly developed after the American Naval basewas closed down following the natural disaster that struck the area. This meant that
there was no formal business planning, and with the lack of experience andcapacity of the Aeta tribesmen in their current management, there has been notmuch change. For any business to succeed, remain sustainable and flourish, thedirection and vision of the business should be clearly stated following the businessplan and strategies.
In this case, the tribe should decide first on their direction and vision for the
PFT. Once the vision is established, market analysis, identification of the productline, marketing and sales, as well as financial projections should all be made. By
doing so, the triple bottom line would also be improved, in that the community
would be clear about the role of the business in the community, the environment
would be properly managed, which means minimized risk of natural hazards suchas landslides, and the business would be more profitable leading to increased
resiliency of the community.
(2) Management of transition policy
There is no evidence of a transition period taking place of the management of
the PFT from the SBMA to the tribe. The role of the Aeta in the days ofmanagement under the SBMA were limited as they were not exposed in the
management (financial, marketing, promotion) side, which does bring into question
the capacity of the Aeta to manage independently. After the transfer, the SBMA wasremoved from the equation, and the ecotourism business went into decline. The
Aeta are aware of the situation, but there is little motivation for improvement since
they are able to survive without relying on the profits from the business. These
factors may lead to the business deteriorating and even closing down. One
explanation for the situation is the lack of necessary written policy and procedure in
the business transition. It should be noted that in any future implementations there
should be a smooth management transition to ensure sustainability of the business.
In this there could be a possible collaboration with the SBMA and DOT to walk andtrain the new management during a set transition period.
(3) General supervision (standard setting and accreditation of DOT)The Tourism Department of SBMA aims to provide quality service to visitors
and tourists of the Subic Bay Freeport through its rigorous marketing practices,
promotional efforts, as well as its continuous monitoring and regulation of all
tourism related establishments and events inside the Freeport. Fundamentally, the

23

24

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

tourism Department works with other destinations in the area to encourage,
promote, develop, and manage tourism as a major socio-economic activity that willbring in revenues, employment, and other benefits to both public and private
sectors within the Subic Bay Freeport area. In working towards this aim, theDepartment should closely monitor the activities of all tourism operation areas andmake sure they follow a certain standard in the operation of their business. The
Department should also include PFT with other tourism destinations and include
PFT in the tour packages.
(4) Performance Grant
The performance grant can increase the motivation of the community (in thiscase the Aeta tribe) to develop the area, as well as to increase sustainability andprofitability of their ecotourism business. This incentive could be implemented atseveral levels, one of which would be at a provincial level. The province, throughthe Department of Tourism, could create a performance grant system. Incentives onreceiving the grant could be a sum of money to be used by the business for further
development, or perhaps a grant for infrastructure development or livelihood
options.
Description: Provincial Performance provides a grant for community based
ecotourism activities. The Department of tourism (DOT) will be producing
indicators for evaluating the performance of the business. Indicators will also
be developed by the DOT with the help of the local government unit, theNational Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP), the Department ofEnvironment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Trade andIndustry (DTI). The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and/or the Treasury
Department could also be included. All the ecotourism will be evaluated once
every three years by the DOT and the highest performing business would beawarded a performance grant that could be in the form of money for thedevelopment of the business and the PR.
This performance grant could be a source of motivation for the business andwould be able to help in the marketing of the PR of the business. Furthermore, theconditions of the business would be improved and customer satisfaction would behigher. This could also be done on a smaller (SBMA) or on a national scale (DOTmain).
(5) Establishment of the voluntary agreements
It is common to have donations from other private entities, NGOs, and evenprivate individuals. In most cases, the donations are welcomed and acceptedwithout agreements. In the case of the PFT, a number of facilities are provided
voluntarily by private individuals. The management is grateful for these donations,Selected students’ Papers

but no agreement has been made with the donors. The management sees the
donations as a form of “utang na loob” which in Filipino culture signifies a
personal level of gratitude. Consequently, the management doesn’t charge thedonors and their guests when they visit. However, a complication arises whendonors return to the site multiple times with a number of guests, causing the facility
to lose revenue. It would therefore be better to have a more concrete and written
understanding of what it means to be a donor.
Reference:
Department of Tourism Philippines. Religions. Retrieved from: http://www.visitmyphilippines.
com/index.php?title=Religious&func=all&pid=4256.
Distribution of regional travelers in the Philippines January – December 2015 Partial Report.
Retrieved from: http://e-services.tourism.gov.ph:8080/didcs/Static%20Documents/publish_
summary%20by%20province%202015.pdf.
Ecotourism Sites by Regions. Eco-tourism sites and destinations. Department of Tourism
Philippines. Retrieved from: http://www.visitmyphilippines.com/index.php?title=Ecotouris
mSitesbyRegion&func=all&pid=2519&tbl=1.
Go visit Philippines. Subic. Retrieved from: http://www.govisitphilippines.com/quick-facts.
php?province=Subic#.
Municipality of Subic, Province of Zambales. Retrieved from: subic.gov.ph.
Philippines Statistics Authority. June 1, 2016. Population of Region III – Central Luzon (Basedon the 2015 Census of Population) ref no 2016-066. Retrieved from: https://psa.gov.ph/content/population-region-iii-central-luzon-based-2015-census-population.
Shenon, Philip. July 18, 1991. The New York Times World. U.S. and Manila Agree on Terms For
10-Year Lease of Subic Bay. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/18/world/
us-and-manila-agree-on-terms-for-10-year-lease-of-subic-bay.html.
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. August 3, 2015. Subic Bay Freeport Disaster-Consciousness
Month. Retrieved from: http://www.mysubicbay.com.ph/news/2015/08/03/subic-bayfreeport-disaster-consciousness-month.
Subic Bay News. August 9, 2014. Subic Ayatas receive 14.8M for land rental. Retrieved from:http://subicbaynews.net/?p=9687
Subic Bay News. October 12, 2013. SBMA, Aytas, NCIP ink agreement on ancestral land.
Retrieved from: http://subicbaynews.net/?p=6599.
U.S. Geological Survey. U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 113-97. The Cataclysmic 1991
Eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, Philippines. Retrieved from: http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/1997/fs11397/.
United Nations Development Programme. July 24, 2013. Fast Facts Indigenous Peoples in thePhilippines. Retrieved from: file:///C:/Users/MiriamCaryl/Downloads/fastFacts6%20-%20
Indigenous%20Peoples%20in%20the%20Philippines%20rev%201.5.pdf.
United Nations University. World Risk Report 2014. Retrieved from: http://i.unu.edu/media/ehs.
unu.edu/news/4070/11895.pdf.
Visit My Subic Bay. Retrieved from: visit.mysubicbay.com.ph25Selected students’ Papers

A Study of Pro-Poor Tourism in China
Xiao Liu
Doctoral Program in Commercial Science, Doshisha University

I. Introduction
II. Tourism and Poverty Reduction
III. A Framework based on Strategic Management
IV. Pro-Poor Tourism Development in China
V. Case Studies
VI. Discussion and Conclusion
ABSTRACTThe purpose of this paper is to explore the incidence of Pro-Poor Tourism (PPT) in
China from the perspective of strategic management. PPT aims to increase the net
benefits for the poor from tourism. This paper is a study of PPT from theunderdeveloped perspective of strategic management. There is a noticeable lack of casestudies in China, especially in the eastern region where the urban-rural income gap ishuge. Firstly this paper will define a framework for case studies based on strategic
management. Secondly, two original case studies in the rural Chinese eastern region will
be introduced and analyzed in terms of the framework. Thirdly, it will be seen that thefindings indicate the importance of the role of governments, online marketing and thetransfer from the entrance fee business model to an upgrade of the industry. This paper
suggests that a new hybrid model with strong local connections and marketing strategy
would be of great value for studies in this field and to understand the incidence of PPT in
China.
Keywords: Pro-Poor Tourism (PPT), strategic management, China, case study, model.
I. Introduction
Poverty reduction is one of the most important global issues, and the tourism sector
has a great deal of potential for improving the standards of living for the poor. It is forthis reason that the concept of Pro-Poor Tourism (PPT) attracts the attention ofacademics, policy-makers, the private sector and development agencies. PPTinterventions aim to increase the net benefits for the poor from tourism, and ensure that
tourism growth contributes to poverty reduction (Ashley, Roe & Goodwin, 2001). Thereare 3 types of PPT strategies: ‘increase economic benefits’, ‘enhance non-financial

27

28

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

livelihood impacts’ and ‘enhance participation and partnership’ (Ashley, 2002).
Pioneering PPT case studies, funded by the Economic and Social Research Unit of
the UK Department for International Development, were launched in South Africa,
Nepal, Uganda, Ecuador and St. Lucia (Ashley, Roe & Goodwin, 2001), and these PPT
initiatives demonstrated that close engagement with the private sector ensured that theinitiatives could have significant impact on the livelihoods of the poor (Goodwin, 2009:92). However, it must be remembered that the logic of PPT is different from that ofstrategic management as PPT focuses on benefiting the poor, while the purpose of
strategic management is usually the sustainable growth of organizations. Moreover, thestudy of PPT in China is greatly underdeveloped. However, it can be generally argued
that PPT, as an increasingly popular concept in tourism research, seems to need further
theoretical advancements and new industry-based practices (Zou, Huang & Ding, 2014:
264).
The key objective of this paper is therefore to explore the incidence of PPT in
China from the perspective of strategic management. This paper begins with a literature
review related to tourism and poverty reduction. This review is used to create aframework for PPT based on strategic management that is to be used for case studies.
Secondly, two original case studies implemented in China will be introduced andanalyzed following the framework. Thirdly, it will be seen that the findings suggest a
new model for PPT in China and possibilities for developing PPT for poverty reduction.
II. Tourism and Poverty Reduction
Literature on tourism and poverty reduction can be divided into three perspectives(economy, sustainability and PPT). In the 1960s, scholars mainly focused on theeconomic issues of tourism, including income, employment and tax revenue. Moreover,there were several studies into the tourism multiplier effect because it encourages growthin the primary and secondary sectors of the industry by allowing benefits to trickle down
to the poor.
In the 1990s, attention was paid to not only the economic impacts of tourism, butalso the social and environmental impacts. According to UNEP & UNWTO (2005),
sustainable tourism can be defined as tourism that takes full account of its current andfuture economic, social and environmental impacts by addressing the needs of visitors,
the industry, the environment and host communities. It is therefore understood thatsustainable tourism should:
・ Make optimal use of environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism
development by maintaining essential ecological processes and helping to conserve
natural heritage and biodiversity.
・ Respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities by conserving buildings

Selected students’ Papers

along with other forms of living cultural heritage and traditional values, while
contributing to inter-cultural understanding and tolerance.
・ Ensure viable, long-term economic operations by providing fairly distributed socioeconomic benefits to all stakeholders. These benefits include stable employment andopportunities for income generation, social services to host communities, andcontributions to poverty alleviation.
Following this increase in interest, the concept of PPT was presented by the UK
Department for International Development in 1999. Another similar program, known as
the Sustainable Tourism-Eliminating Poverty (ST-EP) Initiative, was launched in 2002
by UNWTO at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.
UNWTO considers the ST-EP Initiative to be an effective tool for making a tangible
contribution to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These are the 8international development goals1 for the year 2015 that were announced following theUnited Nations Millennium Summit in 2000. Tourism can play a significant role inachieving these goals, particularly for goals 1, 3, 7 and 8 which are concerned withaddressing extreme poverty and hunger, gender equality, environmental sustainability
and global partnership respectively.2
The purpose of PPT is the same as the ST-EP Initiative: namely to eliminate
poverty. PPT is not a specific product or sector of tourism, but an approach. PPT
strategies aim to unlock opportunities for the poor, whether it is for economic gain, otherbenefits for livelihood or participation in decision-making (Ashley, Roe & Goodwin,2001). According to Ashley, Boyd & Goodwin (2000), PPT has several advantages:
・ As the consumer visits the resort, opportunities are created for selling additional goods
and services.
・ Tourism provides important opportunities for diversification of local economies. It candevelop poor and marginal areas with few other options for export and diversification.
Remote areas are particularly able to attract tourists because of their rich culture,abundant wildlife and beautiful landscapes.
・ Tourism offers labor-intensive and small-scale opportunities when compared withother non-agricultural activities, employing a higher proportion of women and valuing
natural resources and local culture, which may be one of the few assets belonging to12(1) Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. (2) Achieve universal primary education. (3)Promote gender equality and empower women. (4) Reduce child mortality. (5) Improvematernal health. (6) Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases. (7) Ensure
environmental sustainability. (8) Develop a global partnership for development. Available
at: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ (Accessed 19 November 2016).
UNWTO “The ST-EP Initiative: Background and Objectives,” available at: http://step.
unwto.org/content/background-and-objectives (Accessed 19 November 2016).

29

30

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

the poor.
Meanwhile, the ST-EP Initiative is based on the seven mechanisms through which
the poor can benefit from tourism. These strategic lines of action are incorporated into
all ST-EP activities and have been widely disseminated.
Table 1. The Seven ST-EP mechanisms

1. Employment of the poor in tourism enterprises
2. Supply of goods and services to tourism enterprises by the poor or by enterprises
employing the poor
3. Direct sales of goods and services to visitors by the poor (informal economy)
4. Establishment and running of small, micro or community-based tourism enterprises
or joint ventures by the poor (formal economy)
5. Redistribution of proceeds from tax or charge on tourists or tourism enterprises
6. Voluntary giving and support by tourists or tourism enterprises
7. Investment in infrastructure stimulated by tourism also benefiting the poor in thelocality, directly or through support to other sectors
Source: UNWTO “Overview of ST-EP Activities,” available at: http://step.unwto.org/content/overview-step-activities-0 (Accessed 19 November 2016).

Ashley, Boyd & Goodwin (2000) also define the principles underlying PPT:・ Participation: poor people must participate in tourism decisions, if their livelihood
priorities are to be reflected in the way tourism is developed.
・ A holistic livelihoods approach: the range of livelihood concerns of the poor –economic, social, and environmental, short-term and long-term – need to berecognized. Focusing simply on cash or jobs is inadequate.
・ Distribution: promoting PPT requires some analysis of the distribution of both benefits
and costs – and how to influence it.
・ Flexibility: blue-print approaches are unlikely to maximize benefits to the poor. The
pace or scale of development may need to be adapted; appropriate strategies andpositive impacts will take time to develop; situations are widely divergent.
・ Commercial realism: ways to enhance impacts on the poor within the constraints ofcommercial viability need to be sought.
・ Learning: as much is untested, learning from experience is essential. PPT also needs todraw on lessons from poverty analysis, environmental management, good governanceand small enterprise development.
The above changes in the perspectives of tourism from economics andsustainability to those of PPT show that the target of the research changes from macro toSelected students’ Papers

micro and from on the region to on the individual. The traditional focus on the macro
environment may ignore the creation of benefits for the poor who often gain few direct
benefits from standard forms of tourism, and this is why one of the main innovations of
PPT is to particularly focus on providing net benefits to the poor (Goodwin, 2009: 90).
In short, PPT focuses not only on economic impacts, but also on the social andenvironmental impacts on the poor.
III. A Framework based on Strategic Management
Case study is the standard methodology used in PPT studies (Ashley, 2002;
UNWTO, 2006). Ashley (2002) introduces the method guidelines given for six casestudies on PPT projects in South Africa, Nepal, Uganda, Ecuador and St. Lucia.
UNWTO (2006) also collected 26 cases from 20 countries. The guidelines for bothmethods are summarized below:
Table 2. The guidelines of PPT methodology

Ashley (2002)

UNWTO (2006)

Section A:
Defining the ‘Initiative’ and Scope of Case
Study
Section B:
Assessing PPT Strategies and Impacts
1. Overview
1.1 The area and context
1.2 Background and details of the PPT
initiative
2. Pro-poor focused actions
2.1 Assessment of broad PPT strategies
2.2 Specific actions to involve the poor oraddress barriers to participation
3. Results and impacts on the poor
3.1 Progress, challenges
3.2 Identifying impacts on poor people
3.3 Financial benefits to the poor
3.4 Impacts on livelihoods of the poor
3.5 Broader contributions to poverty
elimination
4. Review, lessons
4.1 Different perspectives
4.2 Reflections on this PPT initiative
4.3 Reflections on PPT research

1. Initiation of the business/project
2. Finance and funding
3. Contribution of the tourism project/company to reduce poverty
4. Economic sustainability of the tourism
project/business(Marketing and promotional activities;
Management strategy)
5. Cooperation with tourism associations ordevelopment organizations
6. Regulation and legislation
7. Problems and their solutions
8. Results achieved(Economic results; Quality of life; Educationand community-empowerment; Environmental
protection; Culture and heritage conservation;
Self-esteem; Recognition and image; Tourist
facilities improvement; Marketing andpromotion)
9. Lessons learnt
10. Monitoring and follow up activities

Source: Ashley, C. (2002) “Methodology for pro-poor tourism case studies,” PPT Working Paper 10 and
UNWTO (2006) Poverty Alleviation Through Tourism - A Compilation of Good Practices, World
Tourism Organization.

31

32

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

To sum up, the above guidelines of PPT methods reveal the emphasis placed on
economic sustainability, strategy and finance. However, it must be remembered that theunderlying logic of PPT differs from that of strategic management. In the case of PPT,the independent variable is pro-poor focused action, while the dependent variable is tobenefit the poor. However, the independent variable of strategic management is business
management itself, while the dependent variable is the sustainable growth of theorganization.
It is beneficial for us to grasp the concepts of strategic management to fully
understand the economic sustainability of PPT. Ashley (2002) and UNWTO (2006)
stress the diversity of stakeholders and the importance of marketing, management andfinance in PPT. In this paper, the concepts of the stakeholder, marketing and the businessmodel are used to create an original framework based on strategic management. This
framework is made up of five steps: (1) background, (2) development and stakeholders,(3) marketing mix, (4) business model and (5) benefits for the poor. These 5 sequential
steps can be used in questionnaires or data analysis. But the elements of this framework
can be adjusted in the field if necessary.
The first background step is designed to answer some basic questions related to thereasons for selection. For example, what organization is the focus of the case study?
How to define the poor? There is an international poverty line (e.g., $1 a day), but it ishard to apply in the field because local appropriated indicators should be considered(Ashley, 2002). The key geographical, historical, economic, social and politicalcharacteristics of the case area should also be considered in the background step. In thispaper, the poor are defined by the concept of BOP (base of the economic pyramid). An
estimated 4 billion people, whose annual income is 3,000 dollars or less (in terms of2002 purchasing power), were still living in relative poverty at the base of economic
pyramid (Hammond et al., 2007).
In the second step, the details of tourism development are focused upon. For
example, who initiated the PPT project? Why? Who are the key actors and partners?
What is the relationship between key stakeholders and other players? Ashley, Roe &Goodwin (2001) introduce the implications for stakeholders, and argue that private
operators should participate in product and market development to ensure commercial
realism. One of the great advantages of PPT is that governments play a leading role. The
poor themselves are, of course, a critical component of PPT, but to play an effective role
they may need to be organized at the community level.
The third step relates to the marketing mix of the PPT project. Kotler emphasizes
the fact that the marketing mix is one of the key concepts in modern marketing theory. It
is standard procedure for the marketing mix to be made up of the 4Ps: product, price,promotion and place (Cooper, Fletcher, Gilbert & Wanhill, 1993). In the case of PPT, theSelected students’ Papers

33

features of the tourist area (product), entrance fee (price), sales system (place) andchannels (promotion) are analyzed.
The fourth step is the business model of the PPT project. Magretta (2002) argues
that business models are “stories that explain how enterprises work. A good businessmodel answers Peter Drucker’s age-old questions: Who is the customer? And what does
the customer value? It also answers the fundamental questions every manager must ask:
How do we make money in this business? What is the underlying economic logic that
explains how we can deliver value to customers at an appropriate cost?” (Magretta,
2002: 4). Determining the best ways to make money in the PPT project is the main issue
to consider in this step.
The fifth and final step relates to the benefits for the poor, and these can be
categorized into economic and non-economic benefits. Economic benefits in this context
relate to local employment, income and business opportunities. On the other hand, noneconomic benefits include areas such as education, environment, culture andinfrastructure. The impact made by a PPT project will be evaluated according these two
types of benefit.
Table 3. PPT framework based on strategic management

1. Background

2. Development& Stakeholders

・Whichorganization is
the focus andwhy?
・How are thepoor to be
defined?
・Macroenvironment

・Who initiatedthe PPT project
and why?
・Who are the
key actors andpartners?
・What’s therelationshipbetween key
stakeholders andothers?

3. Marketing
Mix

4. Business
Model

5. Benefits forthe poor・The features of ・Investment of ・Economic
benefits (local
management
the tourist area
employment,
resources(product)
income and・Entrance fees ・The
businessmechanisms in(price)place for making opportunities)
・Sales system
・Non-economicmoney(place)benefits
・Channels(education,(promotion)
environment,
culture andinfrastructure)

Source: Author.

IV. Pro-Poor Tourism Development in China
Unlike many countries in Europe and North America, where rural tourism has
existed for at least a century, there was no tourism in rural areas of China until the early
1980s. The Chinese government plays a decisive role in developing rural tourism in the
country (Gao, Huang & Huang, 2009), while the development of PPT in China can bedivided into 4 periods (Wu, Chen, Xie, Xu & Li, 2015).
The first period was in the 1980s. After the reform and opening up policy was

34

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

adopted in 1978, farmers in China were given more freedom in their agricultural
production and other economic activities. This gave some farmers who resided aroundfamous tourist areas the opportunity to earn money though tourism business on a smallscale, such as family-run restaurant/hotels, transportation over short distances,photography and direct sales of goods to tourists.
The second period was in the 1990s. In 1991, the Guizhou Provincial Tourism
Bureau summarized the experience of alleviating poverty through tourism and coined theslogan pro-poor tourism (Lv You Fu Pin 旅游扶贫 ) with other provincial tourism
bureaus. In 1996, the National Tourism Administration and Poverty Alleviation Office of
the State Council jointly held the national pro-poor tourism forum and implemented PPT
projects, which was a hallmark event in the development of rural tourism in China. By
1996, more than 10,000 villages and 3,000,000 people had been lifted out of poverty,
making PPT a national level strategy during this period.
The third period was from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, the area of the Ningxia Liupan
Mountains (Liu Pan Shan 六盘山 ) was established as the first national PPT
experimental zone. It was managed by five departments (the National Tourism
Administration, the Ministry of Finance, the Poverty Alleviation Office of the StateCouncil, the Western Development Office of the State Council and the State Planning
Commission), which together provide financial, planning, building, management, humanresources and marketing support to national PPT experimental zones. Moreover, the PPTinvestment program also started in 2000. In 2006, the National Tourism Administration
began the ‘Tourism into the countryside’ campaign to promote the development of rural
tourism in the country.
The fourth period began in 2011. In 2012, the National Tourism Administration andPoverty Alleviation Office of the State Council signed a cooperative frameworkagreement. The aim of this agreement was to strengthen the cooperation between
partners in seven different fields: promoting PPT, establishing a leadership institution
and mechanism for regular consultation, introducing opinions and plans on PPT,
promoting the establishment of PPT model areas, increasing promotion, chasing
political/financial support, and finally, strengthening the standardization and service
systems.
The General Office of the State Council (2015) has provided advice on promoting
PPT in rural areas. The advice includes suggestions such as establishing 560 poor
villages as PPT areas, leading 2,000,000 people out of poverty every year, andsupporting the development of rural tourism in 6,000 villages to achieve annual tourism
revenues of around 1,000,000 yuan. UNWTO welcomes China’s decision to use tourism
as a tool to fight poverty, and the results are encouraging. Data from Chinese tourism
authorities show that between 2011 and 2014, more than 10 million people, or 10% ofSelected students’ Papers

the poverty-stricken population, were lifted out of poverty through tourism.3
V. Case Studies
A. Background on Shandong Province, China
Shandong is a 157,900 km² coastal province of China and is a part of the easternregion of the country. The population of the area is 97,894,300, making it the second
most populous province in China. The annual income of urban households in the regionin 2014 was 29,221.9 yuan, while the annual income of rural households was 11,809.4
yuan (Shandong Provincial Bureau of Statistics, 2015), demonstrating the huge gap
between incomes in urban and rural areas.
While PPT in the eastern region of China has not been studied, Chinese researchers
are only now shedding light on PPT in western (Li, 2010; Wu, Chen, Xie, Xu & Li,2015) and central (Guo, 2013; Xiong, Liu & Zhang, 2013; Liu & Xia, 2014) regions ofChina. About 70% of China's poor households are located in western regions that are
remote from the booming coast (World Bank, 2001), making western and central regions
less developed than eastern region (Fan & Sun, 2008).
The reason for this can be traced back to the beginning of the economic reforms of1978 when China achieved remarkable initial success in poverty reduction. The Great
Leap Forward and the setting up of People's Communes during this period achievedlarge initial reductions in poverty as a result of the rapid growth in rural productivity
associated with the return to family farming (Yan, 2010). However, China's economic
growth since the mid-1980s has been driven primarily by rapid industrialization andurbanization, especially in coastal regions, which has progressively enlarged the income
gap between coastal and inland regions (Sicular, Yue, Gustafsson & Li, 2007).
This leads us to the question of how we can raise the income of poor people in rural
areas? The obvious answer is through tourism as 70% of tourist areas in China arelocated in the countryside (Li, 2010). The use of observational, archival and interview
data across different stakeholders (companies, local governments and local people) in
two tourist areas in Shandong Province demonstrate the interest in PPT projects in thisarea where the urban-rural income gap is huge. In the next section, these two originalcase studies will be outlined.
B. Basic Information for Case Studies
In this paper, two tourist areas Erlong Mountain (Er Long Shan 二龙山 ) andZhuquan Village (Zhu Quan Cun 竹泉村 ) in a rural part of Shandong Province have
3

UNWTO “UNWTO welcomes China’s decision to make tourism a tool to fight poverty,”
available at: http://media.unwto.org/press-release/2015-07-29/unwto-welcomes-china-sdecision-make-tourism-tool-fight-poverty (Accessed 12 December 2016).

35

36

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

Figure 1. Provincial-level units and the three economic belts in China
Source: Fan, C. C. & Sun, M. (2008) “Regional Inequality in China, 1978–2006,” Eurasian Geography andEconomics, 49 (1): 4.

been selected for 3 reasons. Firstly, both areas were awarded the title of ‘Chinese Modelsof Rural Tourism’ by the National Tourism Administration in 2015 in recognition ofgood practice of PPT. Secondly, while previous studies focus on the PPT launched bygovernments in western and central regions, Erlong Mountain and Zhuquan Village aredeveloped and managed by a community-based company and the private sector. Thirdly,
both tourist areas opened in 2009. And Erlong Mountain is located in the coastal city of
Qingdao, while Zhuquan Village is located in the inland city of Linyi. The locations ofthese 2 tourist areas are shown in Figure 2.
Erlong Mountain has been open to tourists since April 28, 2009. It was developedby a local community organization called the Xiaowang community. This communitybased company (Qingdao Xiaowang Shengtai Tourism Co., Ltd.) was established on
April 7, 2009 with half a million yuan of capital, and has around 60 employees. The
Erlong Mountain area covers 12.2 km² located near the East China Sea on thesoutheastern coastline of the Shandong Peninsula. The area attracted 155,000 tourists in2015, and there has been an increase in the average local annual income from 7,180 yuan

Selected students’ Papers

Figure 2. The locations of the two tourist areas
Source: Google Map.

in 2007 to 16,800 yuan in 2015.
Zhuquan Village opened for tourism on July 12, 2009. It was developed and ismanaged by the Shandong Longteng Zhuquan Tourism Co., Ltd, a private sector
organization founded on December 4, 2007 with 50 million yuan. Zhuquan Village
covers an area of 0.53 km², and employs about 300 employees. In 2015, 550,000 tourists
visited Zhuquan Village, and there has been a subsequent increase in average local
annual income from 5,408 yuan in 2007 to 14,458 yuan in 2015.
According to BOP’s definition (US$3,000 dollars is equivalent to around 21,000
yuan), the local people in both cases are still living in relative poverty. That said, itcannot be denied that the income in both cases has greatly increased since tourism has
been developed. In this chapter, these two cases will be studied by following theframework based on strategic management described earlier: background, development& stakeholders, marketing mix, business model and benefits for the poor. The summaryof these two case studies is given at the end of this chapter.
C. A Case Study of the Erlong MountainIn the case of Erlong Mountain, Qingdao Xiaowang Shengtai Tourism Co., Ltd.
(Xiaowang Company for short) will be focused upon because the tourist area has been

37

38

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

Table 4. Basic information for case studies
Company(Founded; Capital;
Employee)

Tourist Area;
Opening Date

Area;
Population

Tourists

Average
Local Annual
IncomeResearch Date

Qingdao Xiaowang
Shengtai Tourism
Co., Ltd.
(7 April 2009; ¥0.5
million; 60)

ErlongMountain;
28 April 200912.20 km²;
3100

155,000(2015)¥7,180(2007)¥16,800(2015)

8 March 2016
3 May 2016
5 May 2016
10 August 2016

Shandong Longteng
Zhuquan Tourism
Co., Ltd.
(4 December 2007;¥50 million; 300)

ZhuquanVillage;
12 July 2009

0.53 km²;
469

550,000(2015)¥5,408(2007)¥14,458(2015)

13 March 2016
1 May 2016
4 May 2016
9 August 2016

Source: Author.

developed and is managed by this community-based company. The area inhabited by the
Xiaowang community is fairly densely populated with an average of less than 200 m² ofcultivable land per person, although the land is actually not suitable for mechanizedfarming and other forms of industry. Most local people therefore rely on planting andselling green tea. The Chinese religious, philosophical and ritual tradition of Taoism isthe religion of Xiaowang.
In the 1990s, 13 community-based companies within the Xiaowang community
failed due to poor management, and by 2007, those community-based companies had all
been sold. Meanwhile, the local tea industry was floundering. Fortunately, there are twobeautiful dams in the Xiaowang area, and as 80% of the area is covered by forests, thenegative ion air oxygen content per cubic centimeter reaches 6000, higher than inland
cities in China.
It was for these reasons that the Xiaowang community decided in 2003 to develop
the Erlong Mountain area for tourism. They began by inviting a professional company asconsultants, and Tangzi Taoist temple was subsequently rebuilt in 2005. However, at thattime Erlong Mountain was still a part of the Mount Lao area, which is managed by local
government and is a popular national tourist area.
How important the role of local government is during tourism development can beseen in the support provided to the Xiaowang community. Firstly, the local government
was given a grant in 2009 to manage the Erlong Mountain area. The local government
also provided financial support for infrastructure development, such as dams, roads andrivers, in the Erlong Mountain area. With the development of tourism, the number oftourists increased from 45,000 in 2009 to 155,000 in 2015.

Selected students’ Papers

In terms of marketing, the Erlong Mountain area can generally be described as ahealthy place, being located in a rural area near to Qingdao city, which is by the Yellow
Sea. Most of the tourists that come to Erlong Mountain are from the urban district of
Qingdao, and the main attractions are the fresh air, beautiful dams and mountainclimbing. The peak seasons for tourism are spring and autumn. While the entrance fee
was 30 yuan between 2009 and 2012, this was raised to 50 yuan in 2013. The main sales
system is via ticket booths, which account for 80% of sales, with the remaining 20% of
tickets being sold through tourism companies. In 2015, the Xiaowang Company started
to sell tickets online through a partnership with a company called Meituan, which is a
Chinese group buying website. The price of tickets online is kept above 35 yuan, with 20
yuan of each ticket going to the Xiaowang Company. At the time of writing, there are
only two forms of promotion, one being through tourism companies, and the otherthrough local government.
Investment for development of tourism in Erlong Mountain has mostly come fromthe Xiaowang community, with a small proportion coming from local government.
Money is only being made through selling entrance tickets. Moreover, all of theemployees, who are local people from the Xiaowang community, have insufficientknowledge of marketing strategies. Unsurprisingly, the director of the Xiaowang
Company believes that hiring experts or collaborating with professional tourism bodies
will be an important future step. For example, cooperation with a professional tourism
company would allow restaurants and hotels in Erlong Mountain to be opened, as longas the nature in Erlong Mountain is well protected.
The development of tourism in the Erlong Mountain area not only increases theincome of local people, it also improves the environment for the Xiaowang community.
There are currently 30 people engaged in the tourism business as managers, and 600
people engaged as employees. Tourism development promotes revenue from hotels andrestaurants around ErlongMountain, and during national festivals, the Xiaowang
Company shares the extra income with locals. Finally, the spiritual outlook of thecommunity has drastically improved because of the local people’s interaction with
tourists.
D. A Case Study of Zhuquan Village
Zhuquan Village is part of the town of Tongjing, and is 12 km away from the city of
Linyi. The city is comprised of 143 households and 469 people, and there is an averageof about 780 m² of available cultivable land per person. Before tourism had beendeveloped, 80% of the locals had left the area, with the remaining 20% being the oldpeople and children who were still living off the land.
In April 2007, the local government conducted a feasibility study and concluded

39

40

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

that Shandong Longteng Zhuquan Tourism Co., Ltd. (Longteng Company for short)
could invest in the development of tourism in the village of Zhuquan. The local
government also invited experts from the Tourism Planning and Design Institute of
Shandong Province to design parts of the village for tourism.
The construction of the new tourist areas started in May 2008, and the village ofZhuquan was transformed into 2 parts: ‘Old Zhuquan Village’ and ‘New Zhuquan
Village’. ‘Old Zhuquan Village’ was kept in the original style, and combined traditional
cultural elements into a tourist area, while ‘New Zhuquan Village’ was redesigned as aresidential district for the residents of the original village with roads, water andelectricity being provided by the company of Longteng. The company also provided 143
villages with an average of 55,000 yuan compensation for the redevelopment of
Zhuquan. The construction was completed in 2009, and ‘Old Zhuquan Village’ officiallyopened on July 12, 2009.
Longteng Company invested 156 million yuan in the village of Zhuquan during theinitial period. The company itself started in the sector of tourism development through astate-owned company’s loan of 10 million yuan. The Zhuquan Village project combines
ecological sightseeing, leisure, catering, entertainment and business within an integrated
tourist area. During the development of the tourist area, the local government set up thetourism development and construction headquarters to coordinate the stakeholders forLongteng Company. Local government used highly effective methods to gain supporting
capital of 1.73 million yuan for Zhuquan Village’s watershed management, a watersaving irrigation project, rural housing construction and the renovation of dangerous
houses. Local government also invested over 5 million yuan in the environment
governance and reformation of the tourist area. The investment covered bridge repair,road reconstruction and landscaping within Zhuquan Village.
Longteng Company took full advantage of the local amenities of bamboo, springand old houses to build Zhuquan Village into an all inclusive tourist area. The entrance
fee was 60 yuan in 2009, 80 yuan in 2011 and this was increased to 98 yuan in 2013.
Ticketing channels have developed from ticket booths to diversified sales, such as travel
agencies, group buying websites and Online Travel Agents (OTA for short). Sales
through ticket booths currently account for 65% of sales, with travel agencies
comprising 25% and online sales 10%. The ticket prices of booth, travel agency, andonline sales are 98, 60 and 80 yuan respectively. The commission for each online ticket
is 5 yuan. Travel agencies rebate ladder bonus at the end of the year. This is done
according to the number of tourists, and bonuses range from 3 to 8 yuan per ticket or are
rewarded separately.
Between 2009 and 2010, the main promotional media was traditional press such as
TV and newspapers. However, between 2011 and 2012, the proportion of ‘we media’Selected students’ Papers(such as WeChat) increased, as has the use of outdoor billboards and radio promotion
since 2003. July 12 is the anniversary of the Zhuquan Village tourist area, and Longteng
Company attracts tourists every year in July through all sorts of fun activities such as amini-marathon. The amount of promotion via TV and newspaper is in gradual decline,
while the amount of online media is increasing. Zhuquan Village has won many honors,
which has aided its promotion.4
Longteng Company consists of five departments: operation, construction,marketing, finance and commerce. The main revenue from tourism in the area is fromthe entrance fee, which accounts for about 70%. However, the proportion of revenue inrecent years from the entrance fee has declined in favor of other sources of revenue suchas accommodation, catering, entertainment and souvenirs (such as Zhuquan Village
mineral water). Longteng Company is currently managing a 3-star hotel, 2 restaurants,
30 villas and 3 conference rooms within the tourist area. There is also a commercial
street called ‘Spring on the Mall’ which provides tourism commodity sales and acatering service. This has originally been leased to an outside company, but Longteng
Company is now retaking control.
The development of tourism in Zhuquan Village increases local people’s income.
The company pays an annual land rent of over 400,000 yuan to Zhuquan Village
Committee, while also hiring local people as employees in construction, gardening,cleaning, security, services and so on. This means that nearly half of the villagers areworking in tourism. In addition, the company is providing support to the poor in thedevelopment of ecological agriculture. Longteng Company has signed an agreement thathas helped 125 poor people to procure agricultural products. Moreover, the company
hired agricultural experts to teach planting techniques to the poor before and after the
Spring Festival in 2016.
Local government gives preferential policy and financial support to local people
who participate in the tourism business and this has created a large number of business
opportunities. These opportunities can be divided into 3 types: product sales, restaurant
and hotels. The first comprises of locals selling agricultural products and handicrafts
directly to tourists. Restaurants offer local traditional food and since 2009, as many as 40
new hotels around the tourist area have opened.
E. Summary of Case Studies
The case studies of Erlong Mountain and Zhuquan Village are summarized in Table
4

These include ‘Hospitality Shandong’, ‘The National Demonstration Pilot Project of Leisure
Agriculture and Rural Tourism’, ‘The National Water Conservancy Scenic Spot’ and ‘The
National Model Prize for a Residential Environment’. It was also voted by mainstream
media as ‘The Most Beautiful Village in China’.

41

42

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 35, based on the framework (background, development & stakeholders, marketing mix,
business model and benefits for the poor).
Firstly, the background of these two cases shows that people in rural areas find it
difficult to reap the benefits from Chinese reform and opening up policy. Even though
the Xiaowang community is located in Qingdao, an open coastal city in China, thecommunity was unable to develop the local economy because the land cannot be utilized
for either agriculture or industry. The land of Zhuquan Village is also unsuitable for
agriculture and industry, and access is poor due to a lack of infrastructure.
Secondly, the role of local government is important in both cases. The communityin Xiaowang was given a grant to develop and manage Erlong Mountain, and they also
received financial support from local government to improve infrastructure such as
dams, roads and rivers. On the other hand, in the case of Zhuquan Village, the local
government decided that Longteng Company to should be allowed to invest in Zhuquan
Village. Local government played a role by coordinating with Longteng Company andinviting experts to design the tourist area. In addition, local government set up a tourism
development and construction headquarters to support Longteng Company.
Thirdly, both case studies show that the private sector is marketing better thancommunities. Longteng Company has a professional marketing department, while thecommunity-based tourism Xiaowang Company has to rely on the marketing activities of
local governments and tourism companies. Both cases demonstrate the importance ofdeveloping local tourism resources, online promotion and group buying sites. The
entrance fees of both tourist areas have increased since their opening.
Fourthly, although local government provided financial support to tourism
development in both cases, it is still a minor part of overall investment. Investment in
Erlong Mountain mainly comes for the Xiaowang community, while investment for
Zhuquan Village comes from Longteng Company. The business models of these twocases rely on revenue from entrance fees. However, although the price of entrance fee
has increased in both cases, the ratio of revenue from entrance fees is shrinking.
Longteng Company is instead concentrating on creating revenue from restaurants, hotels
and product sales, while Xiaowang Company is planning to invite a professional tourism
company to develop hotels and restaurants in the Erlong Mountain area.
Fifthly, in both cases, local people’s income has increased markedly after thedevelopment of tourism. With the development of infrastructure, access is improved.
Local resources, such as bamboo, springs, old houses, trees, stones and traditional
culture are protected and fully utilized through tourism. Local people are employed by
tourism companies, and gain the opportunity to learn more about tourism. In the Erlong
Mountain, all employees are locals. Moreover, many business opportunities are createdthrough the development of tourism. Local people can sell product to tourists directly, asSelected students’ Papers

43

well as open restaurants and hotels for tourists. Longteng Company has even invited
experts to help the poor learn ecological agriculture.
Table 5. Summary of case studies
1. Background

2. Development& Stakeholders

3. Marketing Mix

4. Business
Model

・The land is notsuitable for
agriculture orindustrys
・Both cases havebeen awarded thetitle of ‘Chinese
Models of Rural
Tourism’・The governmentis the crucial
stakeholder
・Government
coordinates otherstakeholders forcompanies
・Government
supports PPT inpolicy and funds

・Developing local ・Investment
tourism resources
mainly from・Companies arecompanies
marketing better
・Relying on
than communities
entrance fee
・Online promotion ・Tendency toand group buying
move fromsites are popular
entrance fees to・High entrance fee managing hotels,
restaurants andproduct sales

5. Benefits for
the Poor・Employment bycompanies
・Product sales
・Restaurant andhotel business・Improvement ofenvironment andinfrastructure
・Education

Source: Author.

VI. Discussion and Conclusion
A. Tourism Development and the Role of Governments
The two case studies have clarified the role of local government. Although thedevelopment and management of PPT are usually initiated by companies, local
governments have an indispensable role. Firstly, local government can provide theauthority for PPT development to companies. Secondly, local government can act as acoordinator for companies with different stakeholders, such as other government
departments, tourism planning and design bodies, local people and tourists. Thirdly,
local government can support PPT in policy decisions and funding. This is especiallytrue in the case of Erlong Mountain where local government is doing the promotion for
Xiaowang community.
However, it is not always the case that PPT initiatives by central government
develop into independent projects. In 2000, the first national PPT experimental zone wasdeveloped in the Ningxia Liupan Mountains. Since 2006, the central government has
invested more than 300 million yuan for infrastructure improvement in this project.
Despite a significant ratio of tourism income to GDP, Liupan Mountains’ local fiscalarrangements remain mainly dependent upon payments by the central government,
meaning that this pilot PPT project continually seeks governmental investment forsurvival, which may explain why we still cannot see another national PPT project inChina (Zou, Huang & Ding, 2014: 265).
Actually, since national reform and opening up in 1978, the Chinese government

44

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

has played various important roles in tourism development. The roles can be categorized
as follows: Operator – providing the infrastructure for tourism development through theownership and operation of tourism businesses; Regulator – formulating andimplementing regulations for the running of tourism businesses; Investment stimulator –stimulating investment in tourism by granting financial incentives; Promoter – spending
money on the international promotion of the tourism industry; Coordinator –coordinating activities among different government departments with respect to tourism;
and Educator – establishing educational tourism institutions and providing education andtraining programs in tourism (Zhang, Chong & Ap, 1999: 482). It can be seen that
tourism has transformed from being initially a political tool, which was centrally
controlled, to an economic entity that is now driven by market forces. The initial role ofgovernment as an operator has also now changed to that of being a planner andcoordinator (Zhang, Chong & Ap, 1999: 482-483).
The two case studies described in this paper show the local governments’ role ascoordinators, investment stimulators and regulators. Although central government
actively promotes PPT politically, the case studies demonstrate that governments act as
support for PPT via coordination, rather than using PPT as part of government
operations.
B. Online Marketing and Entrance Fee Business Model
The case studies in this paper show an increasing trend towards online marketingthat includes ticket sales via group buying websites and online promotion. The reason
for this trend can be understood as an increase in internet use in China. In June, 2016,
China had 710 million internet users, with 51.7% penetration rate. The number ofmobile internet users in China is 656 million, with 92% of Chinese internet users using
mobile phones to surf the internet (CNNIC, 2016).
The tourist areas we have looked at target domestic tourists. The tourists that go toZhuquan Village are mainly from Shandong Province, while the tourists that go to
Erlong Mountain are mainly from the urban area of Qingdao. The number of tourists in
Zhuquan Village is increasing much more rapidly than in Erlong Mountain. There are anumber of reasons for this. On the one hand, Longteng Company has a professional
marketing team that is promoting Zhuquan Village via many different channels, while
Erlong Mountain mainly relies on local government and tourism companies. On theother hand, Zhuquan Village enjoys bamboo, spring water and old houses, which are rarein the north of China. The characteristics of Erlong Mountain are similar to those of
Mount Lao, which is a national tourist area in Qingdao. That said, both Zhuquan Village
and Erlong Mountain face a reduction in tourist numbers in winter due to the cold in thenorth of China. How to attract tourists all year round through promotion or developingSelected students’ Papers

new tourist attractions would be an important consideration for both tourist areas in the
future.
Nowadays, both tourist areas rely on revenue from entrance fees, which can becalled the entrance fee business model. However, there is a trend of decreasing thepercentage of revenue from entrance fees. While this may limit the number of tourists
and reduce environmental pressure in tourist areas, it is not the only way to solve thisproblem. An alternative is scientific management, such as online ticket management,
which is helpful to effectively control the flow of tourists (Zhou & Xiong, 2010: 68). In
fact, local governments have designated authorities that set the price of entrance fees
(Zhou & Xiong, 2010: 69), and in some tourist areas, the entrance fee is one of local
governments’ financial resources (Jiang & Cao, 2013: 39).
However, to achieve sustainable development in both tourist areas, solely relying
on an entrance fee business model is insufficient. Hangzhou West Lake (Xi Hu 西湖 ) is
the first national tourist area since October, 2002 to not charge an entrance fee.5 In 2014,
the number of Hangzhou’s domestic tourists was 106 million, 2.52 times that of in 2002,
while the total revenue from tourism was 189 billion yuan, 4.84 times that of in 2002.
This is because free entrance attracts a large number of tourists who are glad to extend
their stay, thus promoting the development of transportation, restaurants and hotels in thewhole of Hangzhou city.6 While a policy of having no entrance fees may not beappropriate for all tourist areas, increasing the added value of tourism areas to upgrade
local tourism industry can be of great significance.
C. The PPT Model in China
Although the PPT model in China has not yet been created, according to Zheng &Zhong (2004), Li (2010) and Su (2011), six general inter-related models have been
identified for rural tourism development in China.
(1) Household-run small business: this model has proved to be the most popular
one with those whose farm-based entertainments are located within or near tourist areas.
Some examples of businesses that follow this model are family-run restaurant/hotels,
short-distance transportation, photography and direct sales of goods to tourists.
(2) Individual farmstead: this model is similar to household-run small business, but
on a larger scale. Individual farmstead can be adapted for tourist areas to provide
5

6

Zhongshan Tourism Dalian China (2016) “The reasons why the Xihu tourist area is making
money after having a policy of free entrance for 10 years,” available at: http://travel.sohu.
com/20161002/n469523454.shtml (Accessed 20 November 2016).
Fang, M. (2015) “Hangzhou Xihu’s free entrance fee policy for many years has improved
total tourism revenue,” available at: http://env.people.com.cn/n/2015/1109/c101027792343.html (Accessed 20 November 2016).

45

46

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

performance, handcrafting, entertainment and production services.
(3) Farmer family plus farmer family: led by the exemplary model of ‘individual
farmsteads’, other farmers are motivated to join in the rural tourism sector. Examples
include ‘fowl-raising families’, ‘green vegetable families’, ‘aquatic product families’ and‘folk performance families’.
(4) Company plus farmers: investors from outside the villages put in a tender,
invited by the local government, for setting up a tourism company specializing in thedevelopment and management of the village’s rural tourism. The company leases landand other resources from the farmer to get them involved in developing and managing
tourist areas.
(5) Company plus community plus farmers: in this model, community refers to arural tourism association representing the local community authority. The company isentrusted by the association with specific matters related to the operation of the village’s
tourism business. The association provides a bridge between companies and farmers.
(6) Government plus company plus farmers: this model can be often seen in largescale tourist areas developed by the local government in rural areas. In developing alarge-scale tourism project, the government at local or regional levels need to requisition
the land from farmers, meaning that the government is required to employ farmers towork for the tourism company, which is either organized by the governments by inviting
outside investors to run the businesses, or by the local community authority as acollectively-owned rural company.
These 6 models show various combinations of different stakeholders. Erlong
Mountain can be categorized as ‘government plus community plus farmer’, while
Zhuquan Village is an example of the ‘government plus company plus farmers’ model.
However, the pro and cons of each model needs further discussion. Moreover, a newmodel of PPT that discusses the benefits for the poor should be considered. This paper
presents such a model that considers central government, local government, the locallyowned company and the non-locally owned company. The characteristics of these four
stakeholders and the benefits for the poor are as follows.
There are 4 quadrants in this model. The one on the upper left stands for local
government, the lower left is for central government, the upper right is for locally owned
companies, and the lower right corner stands for non-locally owned companies. Local
government and locally owned companies have a strong local connection with local
people, but the marketing strategy of locally owned businesses is usually weakercompared to that of non-locally owned businesses.
The Erlong Mountain tourism business belongs to a locally owned company. It is aform of community-based tourism with strong local connections, but the local people
lack marketing strategy in the management of Erlong Mountain. Zhuquan Village, on theSelected students’ Papers

47

Strong Local Connection

Local

Local Ownership

Government

Company

Central

Non-Local Ownership

Weak Local Connection
Figure 3. A new model for analyzing PPT
Source: Author.

other hand, is owned by a company that has a strong marketing strategy and isn’t local,
namely Longteng Company, which has been invited in by the local government fromoutside of the village. However, in this case, the connection with local people is not asstrong as it would be with a locally owned company. The central government has
released regulations to support PPT and has initiated a national PPT experimental zone,
which has not been well evaluated. Local governments can give the authority for PPT
development, act as a coordinator, and support PPT in terms of policies and funds.
Considering the benefits for the poor, local people can reap the benefits directlyfrom a locally owned company. These benefits not only include the bonuses from
community-based tourism, but also that from family-run restaurant/hotels, direct sales ofgoods or service to tourists and so on. However, owing to the lack of marketing strategy,
it may be hard for local people to expand their tourism businesses. On the other hand, acompany in non-local ownership usually has a professional marketing team. That said,
while local people can reap benefits through working for the company, and engage intourism business around the tourist area, they cannot share in the profits directly fromthe company.
In this paper, the incidence of PPT in China from the perspective of strategic
management has been explored. First, literature related to tourism and poverty reduction
was reviewed. A framework with 5 steps based on strategic management was created for

48

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

the case studies. Two original case studies in Eastern Region of China were thenintroduced and analyzed following the framework. Finally, the findings were discussed
and the conclusions of this paper were reached.
To achieve sustainable development of PPT in China, giving full play to the
supporting role of government, strengthening online marketing and upgrading the
traditional entrance fee business model to one of industrial tourism is important. In a
future study, a new analytical PPT model will be discussed and further improved. A
hybrid model that includes strong local connections and marketing strategies would
represent good practice for PPT.
References:
Ashley, C., Boyd, C. & Goodwin, H. (2000) “Pro-poor tourism: putting poverty at the heart of
the tourism agenda,” Natural resource perspectives, 51: 1-6.
Ashley, C., Roe, D. & Goodwin, H. (2001) Pro-poor Tourism Strategies: Making Tourism WorkFor The Poor, Overseas Development Institute, available at: http://www.odi.org/sites/odi.
org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/3246.pdf (Accessed 20 April 2016).
Ashley, C. (2002) “Methodology for pro-poor tourism case studies,” PPT Working Paper 10,
available at: http://www.propoortourism.info/documents/MethodologyforPPT-WkP10.pdf(Accessed 16 April 2016).
CNNIC (2016) “The 38th Chinese Internet Development Statistical Report,” available at: http://
www.cnnic.cn/hlwfzyj/hlwxzbg/hlwtjbg/201608/t20160803_54392.htm (Accessed 20
November 2016), (in Chinese).
Cooper, C., Fletcher, J., Gilbert, D. & Wanhill, S. (1993) Tourism: Principles and Practice,
Pitman Publishing.
Fan, C. C. & Sun, M. (2008) “Regional Inequality in China, 1978–2006,” Eurasian Geography
and Economics, 49 (1): 1-20.
Gao, S., Huang, S & Huang, Y. (2009) “Rural tourism development in China,” International
Journal of Tourism Research, 11 (5): 439-450.
General Office of the State Council (2015) “General Office of the State Council’s opinions onfurther promotion of tourism investment and consumption,” available at: http://www.gov.
cn/zhengce/content/2015-08/11/content_10075.htm (Accessed 19 November 2016), (inChinese).
Goodwin, H. (2009) “Reflections on 10 years of Pro-Poor Tourism,” Journal of Policy Researchin Tourism, Leisure and Events, 1 (1): 90-94.
Guo, Q. (2013) A Study on ST-EP in Hubei Poor Area, Science Press (in Chinese).
Hammond, A.L., Kramer, W.J., Katz, R.S. Tran, J.T. & Walker, C. (2007) The Next Four Billion:
Market Size and Business Strategy at the base of the Pyramid, World Resources Instituteand International Finance Corporation, available at: http://www.wri.org/publication/next-4billion (Accessed 19 November 2016).
Jiang, X. & Cao, L. (2013) “Path Dependence and Innovation for Chinese Tickets Economy ofRegional Tourism,” Journal of Hubei University of Economics, 11 (2): 37-42 (in Chinese).
Li, J. (2010) Theory and Practice on Pro-Poor Tourism, Capital University of Economics andSelected students’ Papers

Business Press (in Chinese).
Liu, H. & Xia, Y. (2014) A Study on Pro-Poor Tourism in Dabieshan, China Economic
Publishing House (in Chinese).
Magretta, J. (2002) “Why Business Models Matter,” Harvard Business Review, 80 (5): 86-92.
Shandong Provincial Bureau of Statistics (2015) 2015 Shandong Statistical Yearbook, available
at: http://www.stats-sd.gov.cn/tjnj/nj2015/new/indexeh_new.htm (Accessed 19 November2016), (in Chinese).
Sicular, T., Yue, X., Gustafsson, B. & Li, S. (2007) “The Urban-Rural Income Gap andInequality in China,” Review of Income and Wealth, 53 (1): 93-126.
Su, B. (2011) “Rural tourism in China,” Tourism Management, 32 (6): 1438-1441.
UNEP & UNWTO (2005) Making Tourism More Sustainable - A Guide for Policy Makers,
United Nations Environment Programme and World Tourism Organization, available at:
http://www.unep.fr/shared/publications/pdf/DTIx0592xPA-TourismPolicyEN.pdf(Accessed 19 November 2016).
UNWTO (2006) Poverty Alleviation Through Tourism - A Compilation of Good Practices, World
Tourism Organization, available at: http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/pdf/10.18111/97892844
09204 (Accessed 19 November 2016).
World Bank (2001) China: overcoming rural poverty, available at: http://documents.worldbank.
org/curated/en/235021468769302523/pdf/multi0page.pdf (Accessed 19 November 2016).
Wu, X., Chen, Y., Xie, T., Xu, H. & Li, P. (2015) Study on the long-term mechanism of tourism
poverty alleviation in ethnic minority areas – based on the perspective of cultural soft
power construction, Beijing Institute of Technology Press (in Chinese).
Xiong, J., Liu, C. & Zhang, Q. (2013) Tourism Development in Poor Mountainous Areas,
Science Press (in Chinese).
Yan, S. (2010) “The Process and Performance of Poverty Reduction in Rural China,” Monthly
Journal of Chinese Affairs, 64 (6): 1-13 (in Japanese).
Zeng, B. & Ryan, C. (2012) “Assisting the poor in China through tourism development: A
review of research,” Tourism Management, 33 (2): 239-248.
Zhang, H. Q., Chong, K. & Ap, J. (1999) “An analysis of tourism policy development in modern
China,” Tourism Management, 20 (4): 471-485.
Zheng, Q. & Zhong, L. (2004) “A Discussion of Developing Model of Community-Involved
Rural Tourism,” Tourism Tribune, 19 (4): 33-37 (in Chinese).
Zhou, L. & Xiong, L. (2010) “A study on indiscriminate price rise of ‘tickets economy’ andmanagement,” Consumer Economics, 26 (1): 66-69 (in Chinese).
Zou, T., Huang, S. & Ding, P. (2014) “Toward A Community-driven Development Model of
Rural Tourism: the Chinese Experience,” International Journal of Tourism Research, 16 (3):261-271.

49

Selected students’ Papers

The role of solar photovoltaic power plants
in Philippine energy production
Beverly Anne Suarez1, Motoi Wada1, Masami Nakata2
Doshisha University, Kyoto1
Kumamoto University, Kumamoto2

Abstract: Three solar photovoltaic power plants in the Philippines: Valenzuela Solar,
Raslag Solar and Calatagan Solar, were visited, and the problems regarding theoperation and maintenance of these power plants were examined through discussions
with the Philippines’ Department of Science and Technology and the Philippines’
Department of Energy. Modern PV power plants require less expenditure formaintenance and have lower running costs than other plants based on the previous
generation of technology. The return of investment for these facilities appears to bearound 10 years, and they can operate for more than 15 years. Furthermore, the highinsolation in the Philippines makes PV electricity production a cost effective powersource.
Keywords: Solar Energy, Solar Photovoltaics
I. Introduction
Global energy consumption is constantly rising and is predicted to increase further in theyears to come. Since fossil fuels are in short supply and are so becoming increasingly
difficult to locate, the need for securing a dependable renewable energy (RE) source is
one of every country’s top priorities. In addition, the looming specter of climate change
is pushing for more active participation in the campaign to prevent further
environmental degradation. The United Nations places great emphasis on energy
resources, citing procuring affordable and clean energy as one of its Sustainable
Development Goals. The Asian Development Bank also stresses the importance ofenergy security and sustainability in their Policy Paper entitled “Energy Policy”, which
was released on June 2009 [1].
Relying on renewable energy sources, particularly solar photovoltaic (PV) energy can
actually increase electricity production. Solar PV systems are generally classified into
two main types: grid connected, also called a centralized system, and an off-grid, or
decentralized system. Of all the types of solar cells, the most commonly utilized is thesilicon-based cell. Another version is the thin film module which is less efficient, butmore economical. The most efficient type is called concentration PV cells. The latest

51

52

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

model, called organic PV cell, is still in the research phase [2].
The main requirement for solar PV systems to work is an abundance of solar insolation.
One country that has abundant solar irradiance is the Philippines with an average of1643 to 2008 kWh/m2 per year of solar insolation in some parts of the country [3]. This
clearly demonstrates that solar energy can be a promising renewable energy source for
the Philippines. However, implementing this type of energy source is expensive as there
are many factors involved in production. Firstly, a sizeable piece of land, which is notneeded for other RE power sources like hydro, wind and biomass is required for theconstruction of the plant. There is also extensive additional costs involved in producing
solar panels. All the stages of production from the initial stages of the mining of the SiO2
needed for the production of solar cells, to refining the ore to extract silicon and thenturning this metallurgical-grade silicon into polysilicon, all often mean that excessive
fumes are emitted that are hazardous to health and the environment [4]. However, thisproblem can be resolved through better environmental practices. Another approach that
decreases the cost of producing solar cells is recycling. Instead of disposing of the used,
end-of-life PV modules, the monocrystalline, polycrystalline, or amorphous silicon
contained in solar cells is much more economical and environmental friendly.
Solar technology is not new in the Philippines, small solar power projects have been
implemented in certain parts of the country as early as the 1990s. As part of the GermanPhilippine Special Energy Program that ran between 1987 and 1999, a 3kW/peak solar
power plant project has been employed at San Agapito in Batangas. Another initiative is
the Municipal Solar Infrastructure Project, which is a joint venture of the AustralianGovernment Overseas Aid Program (AusAID) and British Petroleum (BP) and develops
distributed solar-home systems, solar lanterns and solar pumps for water distribution in
the southeastern part of the Philippines. Both of these projects were reported as being
successful according to project documents, but the case study and field report by J.
Marquardt on 2013 states an opposing view [5]. According to his findings, the facilities
in the projects broke down after only a few years of operation. Most panels were missing
and the facilities were reported to have stopped working after just 2 to 3 years ofoperation.
There has been an increase in the number of renewable energy companies in thePhilippines. This is due to incentives provided by the government to companies who arewilling to invest in renewable energy production. However, under Philippine law,investors of any type of business are required to have 60% Filipino ownership in theircompanies [6]. Clearly, this hinders international investors from establishing energy
related businesses in the country, but the current president of the Philippines, Rodrigo
Duterte, is willing to bypass this law if it will increase investment in energy.

Selected students’ Papers

II. The Renewable Energy Situation in the Philippines
The main institution involved with energy policies and regulations in the Philippines is
the Department of Energy (DOE), which was created in 1992 through the Republic Act(RA) 7638 [7]. The DOE operates in collaboration with the Energy Regulatory
Commission (ERC) and the National Renewable Energy Board (NREB). However, it is
the DOE that is the governing body tasked to oversee the energy sector, and it is backed
by the ERC and NREB, which are both involved in the formulation and implementationof the policies regarding energy production and distribution. Section 21 of the ElectricPower Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), RA 9136, or the EPIRA Law of 2001 state that the
National Transmission Corporation or TransCo, the company that owns the transmission
sector, should be privatized. The aim of this privatization policy is to enhance power
generation, transmission and distribution, and is also expected to promote a free market,
thus lowering the price of electric power. However, privatization has instead resulted in
the government having no control over pricing. In fact, the price of electricity has
sharply increased as power was only being generated using fossil fuels, due to theabsence of technology and investment on renewable energy. This encouraged thegovernment to look at other possible sources for the provision of more affordable
electricity.
A solution to the high cost of electricity generation has arisen through the passage of two
new laws: the “Biofuels Act” of 2006 (RA 9367) and the “Renewable Energy Act” of2008 (RA 9513) [8, 9]. These laws have accelerated the exploration and development of
renewable energy sources to further support economic growth. Through these laws,
additional incentives have been given to companies that produce and promote renewableenergy. These initiatives are as follows: no tax per liter volume for local and imported
biofuels; VAT exemption for the sale of raw materials used in production of biofuels;
exemptions from wastewater charges for industrial effluents; and financial assistanceprovided to those who engage in the production, storage, handling, and transport of
biofuel and biofuel feedstock. This has led to a surge in renewables being introduced
into the Philippine market. The feed-in tariff (FIT) system, which is part of therenewable energy act, is a long-term agreement that entitles the producer of electricity
generated by renewables to a fixed payment for every kilowatt-hour of energy supplied
to the grid within a minimum period of 12 years. The budget for the FIT is included in
the bills of electricity consumers under the name FIT all or feed-in tariff allocation,
which currently stands at 0.12 PhP per kilowatt-hour. All of these incentives haveprompted the emergence of private sectors investing in renewable energy production.
From the total power generation reported by DOE in 2014, the total share capacity
coming from renewable energy is 24.1% with total generation standing at 38,206 GWh[10]. Maximum capacity is still increasing with the addition of more renewable energy

53

54

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

power plants and through the long-term projects of the government and its ultimate
vision of “Energy Access for More”. In addition, according to the National Renewable
Energy Program (NREP) roadmap, the target RE capacity has increased threefold from5,369 MW in 2010, to 15,236 in 2030 [11]. Since the passing of the EPIRA law, privatecompanies have started investing in renewable energy to provide sustainable alternatives
to the old diesel powered systems. There are several different energy sources available in
the Philippines; namely hydro, geothermal, natural gas, oil based, coal, biomass, windand solar. Out of all of these, the majority of production comes from coal, which
accounts for 31.81% of energy generation in the Philippines. However, as coal is not a“clean fuel” its use can gravely affect the government’s commitment to help reducegreenhouse gas pollution. In terms of renewable energy sources, as of 2014, hydro is themost widely used, with 3,543 MW installed capacity, then geothermal at 1,918 MW, next
is wind at 282.9 MW, then biomass at 131 MW and the lowest is solar at 23 MW [12].
An interview with Engr. Arnulfo M. Zabala, the Supervising Science Research Specialistof Solar and Wind Energy Management Division of the Department of Energy (DOE)
Renewable Energy Management Bureau, and through consultation with Engr. Ermie
Bacarra, Chief Science Research Specialist, Human Resource and Institution
Development Division at Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging
Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD), Department of Science andTechnology (DOST), it was clarified that renewable energy in the Philippines is state
owned. It was also explained that this means that stakeholders interested in putting up
business related to renewable energy will have financial and legal obligations to thestate, and so these companies need to enter into a contract with the government before
they can build RE power plants. There are two types of contracts that any private sector
can participate in. One is the open and competitive section process (OCSP), wherein any
predetermined location with a potential for housing a renewable energy power plant canbe offered by the DOE for bidding to interested companies. Another method is throughdirect negotiation, where the site can be chosen by the company and the contract can bedirectly submitted to the DOE. After application of both contracts, FIT is still subject toapproval.
III. Solar photovoltaic energy in the Philippines
The Philippines is a country in South East Asia located 15° north of the equator. With apopulation of around 100 million and an area of 300,000 square kilometers, it is mostdensely populated in and around the capital city, Manila. The Philippines is anarchipelagic nation made up of 7,107 islands with three island groups; Luzon, Visayas
and Mindanao. The climate is tropical and the temperature ranges from 20 to 35°C. It ispart of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the most seismically active region in the world, meaningSelected students’ Papers

55

that there are frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. More than 15 tropical storms
pass through the Philippines with an average of 10 making landfalls.
Many major industries in The Philippines such as electronic assembly, pharmaceuticals,
chemicals and food processing, all rely on electricity. Data from the ASEAN Centre forEnergy states that as of 2014, only 79.88% of the whole Philippine population has
access to electricity [13] less than neighboring countries such as Malaysia and Thailand
where 100% of their population has access to electricity. Although Indonesia’s situationis also complicated by having a similar topography to the Philippines, in that bothcountries comprised of many large and small islands, 88.6% of Indonesia’s population
benefits from access to electricity. Having access to electricity can be translated into
economic activity, since most major industries rely on electricity for production andoperation. The monthly minimum wage in the most urbanized region, which is aroundthe nation’s capital, is 312.19 USD and it is in the top 15 of the list of countries with thelowest consumer price index [14].
Table 1 shows the GDP per capita of the Philippines compared to the neighboring
countries of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. As seen from Table 1, the GDP per capita
of the Philippines is trailing its neighboring countries by a margin of 500 million USD.
Another indicator of the poor economic situation of the Philippines is the highunemployment rate, which is as of 2014 data, 7.1% compared to 6.2% in Indonesia,
2.0% in Malaysia and 0.9% in Thailand [15]. However, the table below shows that the
GDP of the Philippines increased from 2014 to 2015, while the GDP of the three othercountries decreased. The Philippines is one of the few Asian countries where economic
growth is forecast. Taking into consideration both the unemployment rate and GDP, it isclearly shown that there is a need for better electricity access for the whole economy to
improve.
Table 1. GDP per capita of select countries shown in million USD [16]Country

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Indonesia

3647.63700.53623.53491.93346.5

Malaysia

10427.810834.7

10973.7

11307.1

9766.2

Philippines

2371.92604.72787.02872.52899.4Thailand5539.55917.96229.25977.45816.4

Figure 1 shows the average annual amount of solar irradiation in kWh/m2 for every partof the Philippines [17]. Certain parts of the Philippines experience an average of1700 kWh/m2, more than enough to provide a small village of 1000 households withelectricity for an entire year. Current development in solar technology has increased
interest in solar PV energy, and this is evidenced by the remarkable boost in solar power

56

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

Fig.1. The average annual total of solar irradiation in
the Philippines for the period 2007-2013.

capacity from 32.20 MW in 2006 to 1,550.2 MW in 2014. Figure 2 shows the additional
solar power capacity for the whole ASEAN region since 2007 to 2014 [12]. From
additions of less than 50 MW every year since 2007 to 2010, power capacity of morethan 100 MW was made possible from 2011, increasing exponentially up to almost 600
MW by 2014. In the Philippines, the first quarter of 2016 has seen the highest number of
new solar photovoltaic power plants, with a 500 MW FIT increase in installations fromthe 150 MW FIT installed from 2015.
The off-grid system type of solar PV is advantageous for developing countries and for an
archipelagic setting like the Philippines. However, the centralized system is more
popular for companies investing in renewable energy, because of the high feed-in tariff
given to grid-connected systems, which is currently set at $ 0.23 per kilowatt-hour [3,18], compared to the FIT or feed-in tariffs of other renewables like hydro ($0.141),
biomass ($0.158) and wind ($0.203). The reason behind this discrepancy is that solar PV
is the most expensive RE system to develop, and like wind energy, is an unstable
renewable energy system as providing a satisfactory power output is dependent on anabundance of sunlight and wind. Both biomass and hydro are base load energy sources,
meaning that there is consistent supply of power that can provide for the minimum
demand. The grid-connected system also costs less than the decentralized system
required for some types of solar energy because energy storage is not required for thisSelected students’ Papers

Fig.2. Additional power capacity of solar energy for the ASEAN region from 2007-2014.

particular type of system to work.
IV. Photovoltaic power plant operation in the Philippines
Visits to plants, interviews and surveys were conducted at three existing grid-tied solar
power plants. These are Valenzuela Solar in Barangay Isla, Valenzuela City; Raslag
Solar Power Plant at Barangay Suclaban, Mexico Pampanga; and Calatagan Solar in
Sitio Calumpang, Paraiso, Calatagan, Batangas. All three solar farms are located on thelargest island of the Philippines, Luzon, with panels tilted at a range of 15° to 20°, basedon the latitude position of the Philippines.
The plant visit to Valenzuela Solar was conducted on December 1, 2016 and two
Operations and Maintenance Engineers, Sherwin Tan and Emmanuel Leal, wereinterviewed. Valenzuela Solar is an 8.5 MW grid connected solar power plant, which
went into operation early this year. The power plant uses Suntech polycrystalline PV
cells, and is expected to produce an average 11,340 MWh/yr. At least 30 people areworking for the company and the forecasted return of investment for this particular plantis in 8 to 10 years.
The location of the Valenzuela Solar power plant is a flat land converted from afishpond. The site is adjacent to the Polo River, so flooding is common in the area. It is
for this reason that the base of the solar farm is elevated one meter from the road and thepanels are elevated one meter from the ground. The poles that hold the panels are madeof black iron pipe, which is heat and fire resistant. The design of the inverter is asynchronizing device that ties the PV module to the grid. This automatically turns off themodules if the grid connection is turned off.
A plant visit and interview was conducted at Raslag Solar on November 28, 2016 with
the Research Engineer Angelo Paolo Usi, and Chief Engineer Benedict Marcelo. The
solar farm of 23.19 MW is also connected to the grid and has been in operation since

57

58

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

March 2015. This power plant employs 16 personnel and produces an average power of
34,238 MWh/yr, enough for 9,000 households in 5 barangays. This solar farm is
expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 23,300 tons per year [19]. The plant uses Conergy
polycrystalline PV solar cells, which have an efficiency of 17.5%, and degradation of
0.70% per year. They have a product warranty of 12 years. The company estimated thatthe initial investment would be returned in about 10 years.
The solar farm is higher in elevation compared to other areas surrounding it, such as
Angeles and San Fernando. This is important since the Pampanga region where the plant
is located is known to flood when there is a typhoon. This factor was considered in thedesign of the foundations. The frames are made of aluminum, which is light, durable andcorrosion resistant, and are driven 3.5 meters to the ground in order to withstand windsof up to 300 kph. The depth is determined with an additional precaution that takes into
account that the most destructive typhoon that swept the Philippines, Typhoon Haiyan,
had maximum sustained winds of up to 230 kph. Within its brief operation, the plant was
shut off only once for controlled maintenance scheduled by the Mabalacat substation
where it is connected. During this downtime, the power produced continued to flow to
the house load that provides power to the building.
The last solar farm visit was to Calatagan Solar on December 1, 2016. An interview with
Engr. Jose Noel Domingo, Officer-in-charge Plant Manager of Calatagan Solar and Engr.
David Belleza, Vice President of Construction at Solar Philippines was conducted during
the plant visit. Calatagan Solar is currently the largest solar power plant in thePhilippines with 200,928 Trina Solar polycrystalline PV solar panels installed on noncorrosive galvanized iron pipes with a penetration depth of two meters and one-meterelevations, and a 63.3 MW maximum capacity. Due to the result of their calculation thatthe company can get back the investment in 10 years and the environmental benefits,
Solar Philippines is planning to invest in building other solar power plants in the future.
This solar power plant is located along 165 hectare of grassland at the foot of Mount San
Piro, and can produce enough power to supply the entire western region of Batangas
province. A total of 100 operations and maintenance, security, housekeeping andengineering employees are currently working on site. Plans of putting up a storage
system has been discussed by the owners, however, it is not yet a priority since thepower plant would still be operational even without a battery system.
Photovoltaic systems in the Philippines use a common PV array arrangement consistingof parallel-connected strings containing a series of connected solar panels. These strings
are connected together in a fuse box. This box, called a string combiner box, isconnected to an inverter, which is in turn connected to a transformer tied to thetransmission line. In its eight months of operation, only one out of the 32,692 solar
panels in Valenzuela Solar has burnt out due to a power surge from the inverter. This

Selected students’ Papers

accident has blown up a lighting arrester, which caused a system shutdown for 5 hours.
After the incident, all inverters were replaced to prevent further damage. No other effectwas seen in the PV arrays, strings, combiner boxes or transmission line. The other twosolar farms did not have any problem with the solar cells, other than shattered panels due
to transportation and mishandling during installation. Minimal cracks on a solar panel
were seen after some residents who initially opposed the construction of the solar farmin Calatagan Solar threw stones at the plant site. The broken panels were immediately
replaced and the issue was discussed in a meeting with the community. All scheduled
system downtimes for all the power plants visited were due to the isolation of the plantfrom the grid. However, for Raslag Solar, even when it is not connected to the grid, thefacilities inside the power plant can still use the power generated. These downtimes
lasted according to the shutdown of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines,
and usually occur about 30 minutes before the connection is fully restored.
V. Analysis
The two unsuccessful projects discussed in the first part of the paper: the solar power
plant project in San Agapito, Batangas and the solar home systems project in thesoutheastern part of the Philippines, were donated and operation was not monitored. The
most common problem in the solar PV industry in the Philippines previously was themaintenance of the energy farms. Follow up documentation were only performed two to
three years after initial operation of the two projects. Most of the projects were not only
scarcely monitored but also poorly maintained by technical staff who supervise themaintenance of the solar cells, leading to the termination of most of the old projects. In
addition, communities were not considered as stakeholders in the solar power plants, andso did not feel any need to take care of the systems donated to them. In other words,
since they considered themselves as beneficiaries, they were not interested in preserving
the facilities. Several solar panels had stopped working after a few years of operation,and the projects were abandoned because the community did not know how to repair thefacilities.
In contrast, modern solar power plants visited are privately owned, well monitored, andconstantly maintained. The surrounding communities are not detached from the plants
but educated about the benefits of renewable energy, while the plant owners are better
informed about their social and environmental responsibilities. While they conductedconsultations of the community before building the facilities, Calatagan Solar performed
tree planting and promoted reforestation activities such as donating seedlings to thePhilippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources to relocate the displaced
trees affected by the construction. The installation phase also helped the neighboring
community by providing jobs for the locals. By comparing former and current successful

59

60

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

cases, we see an obstacle that needs to be overcome in order to maintain a sustainablesolar project is the capacity for technical maintenance, which was clearly lacking in theprevious discontinued projects. Educating nearby communities on the significance ofproviding electricity not just for their daily needs, but also for the development of thearea is therefore of great importance. Communities can participate in making the solar
energy projects sustainable through technology transfer. The knowledge about operationand maintenance can be passed on to community members to assure the sustainable
operation of the power plant. Thus, the involvement of the local community is a key forsuccessful implementation of PV power plants. A new power plant also provides more
job opportunities for skilled and non-skilled workers. Employed workers were all fromthe nearby communities, so no relocation was necessary which lessens costs related to
employment. Thanks to these initiatives, there is now less opposition from theneighboring communities and the construction and operation is going more smoothly.
VI. Conclusion
The interviews with the engineers from the power plants revealed that the average time
for the return of the investment of a solar PV system is 10 years. This is a reasonableamount of time considering the cost of acquiring the area, preparation for it to besuitable for a plant and the purchase of the solar panels, which were all imported fromabroad. On the other hand, the facilities are expected to last for 25 years. This isadvantageous for companies looking into investing in solar energy since the minimum
warranty for solar panels is 10 years. This makes a solar farm a feasible investment, withthe operation lasting twice the amount of time it takes to regain the initial investment.
There is also the advantage of reduced impact on the environment because solar power
plants can reduce CO2 emission, and the cost for maintenance is limited to the salary of
the employees, as solar panels have a 10 or more years warranty.
The electrical system based on PV power plants can help achieve the Philippine
government’s vision of “Energy Access for More”. Maintaining a power plant requiresthat the community surrounding the area should be considered in aspects of the decision
making process, such as plant construction and expansion, since they can affect the
livelihood of the members of the community. Educating neighboring communities
creates less opposition and allows the changes made in the community to be easilysocially accepted.
Adaptation to environmental changes is also an important factor to consider. The
Philippines is very prone to strong typhoons, with around 10 tropical storms passing
through the Philippines every year. Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest typhoon that passed
through the Philippines, had a maximum wind speed of 230 kph. Designing the framesholding the solar panels that can withstand winds stronger than 300 kph is a practicalSelected students’ Papers

safety measure that should be made for the solar power plant to be more resistant todamage, and doing so would minimize the need for replacements for damaged panels.
The overall evaluation of cost against benefit must be carefully made based on PV
adaptivity to the Philippine society.
Solar power plants have seen an increase in popularity over the past two years. The
projected capacity of solar renewable energy, which was determined by the National
Renewable Energy Program target of the Philippine government, has been exceeded. The
target was initially set at 350 MW, but has currently reached the capacities of 500 MW.
As this has been greater than the government expected, the PV system development may
go on to replace other renewable energy sources such as biomass and hydro energy,
which did not increase in maximum capacity.
References:[1] ADB Policy Paper. Energy Policy. (2009 June)[2] Timilsina, G.R., Kurdgelashvili, L., Narbel, P.. (2012) Solar energy: Markets, economics,
and policies. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (16), 449-465. doi: 10.1016/j.
rser.2011.08.009[3] Bakhtyar, B. et. al.. (2013) Potentials and challenges in implementing feed-in tariff policy inIndonesia and the Philippines. Energy Policy (60), 418-423. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.
2013.05.034[4] Mulvaney, D. (2014) Solar Energy Isn’t Always as Green as You Think. IEEE Spectrum,
Retrieved from http://spectrum.ieee.org/green-tech/solar/solar-energy-isnt-always-as-greenas-you-think[5] Marquardt, J., (2014). How sustainable are donor-driven solar power projects in remoteareas? Journal of International Development, (26), 915-922.doi: 10.1002/jid.3022[6] The LawPhilProject. Philippine Laws and Jurisprudence Databank [ONLINE] Retrieved
from: http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1991/ra_7042_1991.html [Accessed
30December 2016][7] The LawPhil Project. Philippine Laws and Jurisprudence Databank [ONLINE] Retrieved
from: http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1992/ra_7638_1992.html [Accessed 24
August 2016][8] The LawPhilProject. Philippine Laws and Jurisprudence Databank [ONLINE] Retrieved
from: http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2007/ra_9367_2007.html [Accessed
30December 2016][9] The LawPhilProject. Philippine Laws and Jurisprudence Databank [ONLINE] Retrieved
from: http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2008/ra_9513_2008.html [Accessed
30December 2016][10] Cerezo, M.P.. (2016) Updates in RE Development: Philippines [PDF] Retrieved from http://
www.egnret.ewg.apec.org/meetings/egnret46/0413-0414%20Joint_Meeting%20+EGEEC
47+EGNRET46/2-EGNRET/01-economy%20presentation/%5BPhilippines%5DEGNR
ET%2046.Phils%20report.pdf

61

62

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3[11] Angeles, R. (2015). Wind Energy Development in the Philippines. 2nd Asia Renewable
Energy Workshop 2015 Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology, Jakarta,
Indonesia[12] ASEAN Centre for Energy Team, ASEAN Renewable Energy Sub-sector Network,
DeutscheGesellschaft fur InternationaleZusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (2016 August)
ASEAN Renewable Energy Policies. Retrieved from https://app.box.com/s/z9l9j87myba0l
x592bgstk0hzy0lhp4u.
[13] Philippines; Asean Centre for Energy [ONLINE] Retrieved from: http://www.aseanenergy.
org/countries/philippines/ [Accessed 23 December 2016][14] Department of Labor and Employment National Wages and Productivity Commission[ONLINE] Retrieved from: http://www.nwpc.dole.gov.ph/pages/ncr/cmwr.html [Accessed
30 December 2016][15] World Bank Data. 2016. World Bank [ONLINE] Retrieved from: http://data.worldbank.org/
indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS [Accessed 30December 2016][16] World Bank Data. 2016. World Bank [ONLINE] Retrieved from: http://data.worldbank.org/
indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD [Accessed 24 August 2016][17] Solargisimap of the Philippines [ONLINE] Retrieved from: http://solargis.info/imaps/#loc=
10.077037,129.836426&c=10.660608,126.738281&z=5 [Accessed 30 December 2016][18] Roxas, F., Santiago, A.. (2016) Alternative framework for renewable energy planning in thePhilippines.Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (59), 1396-1404. doi: 10.1016/
j.rser.2016.01.084[19] Conergy press release [ONLINE] Retrieved from: http://www.conergy.com/en/pressreleases/2015/conergy-wins-expansion-contract-raslag-solar-power-plant [Accessed 23
December 2016][20] Ismail, A.M. et. al. (2015) Progress of solar photovoltaic in ASEAN countries: A review.
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (48), 399-412. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2015.04.010

GRM Global Career Development Program Report

Seeking New Working Environments for PhD Students:
The GRM Career Development Program in the Balkans
Idiris Danismaz (Ph.D.)
GRM Career Coordinator, Doshisha University

Seeking new working environments for PhD Students:
The GRM Career Development Program in the Balkans ………………63
Abstract ……………………………………………………………………63
Introduction ………………………………………………………………63
1. Outline of the GCDP ……………………………………………………64
2. Implementation of the GCDP …………………………………………65
2.1. Application and Selection …………………………………………65
2.2. Implementation ……………………………………………………66
3. Evaluation ………………………………………………………………67
Abstract
This is a performance report on an international career development program held in the
Balkans. The program is entitled the ‘GRM Global Career Development Program(GCDP)’, and is run by leading graduate schools and the GRM career support team. It is
implemented by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology(MEXT) at Doshisha University.
The report provides a brief general description about the program and the activities,
including research, fieldwork and internships, which took place over several stages. The
report is based on the students’ reports which were submitted after the program had been
completed1.
Key words: Career Development program, Global Career, Non academia career
opportunities for PhD holders.
Introduction
It is easy to appreciate how difficult it must be for GRM students to find the time tocomplete the conventional internships that are normally designed for ordinary
undergraduate students. This is because GRM students have to complete the minimum
20 credits of GRM courses, in addition to the 30 credits that are obligatory for their
1

For more detail about students’ reports, refer to the section of students’ reports in this issue.

63

64

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

respective major. An additional difficulty for these students is that they are either stuckin the laboratory most of their time, which is almost always the case for students within
the engineering sciences; or, if they are in the social sciences or humanities, they areoften obliged to go abroad for long field trips. This means that it can be hard for them tofind the time for an appropriate internship in order to gain real experience of their future
work place. It was therefore deemed necessary to design a special career development
program to match the needs of these students.
Another reason why the GRM career support team has decided to hold an internationalversion of the “career camp”, which has been held in Japan for several years, was that a
considerable number of GRM students expressed an interest in also working outside ofJapan. It is this career development program that is the subject of this report.
In order to provide an overall response to the above demands, and to achieve thefollowing aims in particular, the “Global Career Development Program” (GCDP) ,which is described in detail below, is planned for implementation this academic year.
1. Outline of the GCDP
The ‘GRM Global Career Development Program (GCDP) ’, was an “application andselection-based” program designed to support the career development of GRM students
and provide them with opportunities to gain short-term workplace experience (“intensive
internships”) outside of Japan. The program for GRM students included research,
fieldwork, internships, and training in suitable work places. The following points list the
GCDP’s aims and goals:
1. Arranging “intensive internship” opportunities for students who wish to work in theprivate sector (e.g., for global companies) , for international organizations, or inacademia or government institutions after graduation.
2. Providing short-term workplace experience to assist students in choosing a careerpath.
3. Offering training in the transferable skills that are often required when applying for ajob.
4. Providing opportunities for field practice and in the application of GRM educationand knowledge within the chosen area of ‘peace building in post-conflict societies.’22

The reason why ‘peace building in post-conflict societies’ was selected as the theme of the
program is because the goal of the Global Resource Management Program, as specified on
its homepage, “is to produce global leaders (…) who can assist emerging and developing
countries, as well as promote human security and inclusive growth, through global resource
management by utilizing knowledge gained from both the engineering and social sciences”.
Unfortunately, almost all of today’s developing and emerging countries are struggling withconflicts that prevent GRM students from working in the field. As regions where ongoingGRM Global Career Development Program Report

2. Implementation of the GCDP
2.1. Application and Selection
Since GCDP is an extracurricular activity, and as all students of the program should betreated equally, the application period and the requirements for selection, such as writinga proposal, have been determined as follows.
Students were required to write a “statement of purpose” that incorporated the threedifferent questions that had been prepared by the hosting organizations in terms of theeducational purpose. The questions were also the main theme of each of the groups
throughout the entire program.
The selection process was from the 1st of May to the beginning of June. The individualstatements of purpose, in which candidates provided their answers to the question3, wereused to select participants.
The questions and the hosting organizations4 are given below:
The first question, which was created by the Mitsubishi Corporation Liaison Office inBelgrade, was for students who want to work for companies within the private sector.
The question was: “What is the best way to draw the attention of Tokyo Headquarters to
the Belgrade Liaison Office?”53
4

5

conflicts are taking place cannot be the location of the program, it was therefore decided
that post-conflict areas are the best option. It was for this reason that Bosnia-Herzegovina
and Serbia were selected so that students can consider the current situations of the two
Balkan countries and predict what kind of opportunities and challenges they may face intheir future development.
7 students were selected and divided into three groups: private sector, internationalorganizations, and academia, with at least two students in each group.
The author of the report, on behalf of the GRM program, would like to take this opportunity
to express his appreciation to everyone who has contributed so much to make this program
possible. This includes His Excellency Valentine Inzko (High Representative, Office of theHigh Representative [OHR]) , Mr Michael Doyle (Head of High Representative’s Cabinet,
Office of the High Representative) , Professor Branislav Đorđević (Director of the Instituteof International Politics and Economics in Belgrade) , Dr. Slobodan Janković (Research
Fellow, Institute of International Politics and Economics) , The Japanese Embassy in
Belgrade and Sarajevo; Mr. Naoki Tsukada, (General Manager of Belgrade Liaison Office,Mitsubishi Corporation) , Mr. Toshiya Abe (Resident Representative of Balkan Office,Japan International Cooperation Agency) , Ms. Kudo Mikako, Dr. Keiichi Hashimoto(JICA, Tokyo Headquarter) ; GRM professors and office staffs; and to the many othermembers of the above organizations and the others whose names are not mentioned here.
The background to the first question can be further explained as follows: Corporate strategy
generally places emphasis on huge emerging markets, such as China or Africa. While The
Balkans (our market) is emerging (i.e. is not yet mature) , it cannot be said to be huge.
Therefore, what kind of methods would be appropriate to motivate company headquarters

65

66

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

The second question was given to candidates who want to work for internationalorganizations. The question was provided by JICA (Japan International Cooperation
Agency) Balkan Office (in Srebrenica and Belgrade) , and was: “What lessons have beenlearnt from the peacekeeping activities of OHR (High Representative for Bosnia andHerzegovina) and JICA during the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina?”6
The question for those who want to work in academia (or government) was created forthe Institute of International Politics and Economics (IIPE) in Belgrade. The question
was “What kinds of peace building approaches are better than “the liberal model?"72.2. Implementation
The program was held on 3-17 September, 2016 in Vienna (Austria) , Sarajevo,
Srebrenica, Mostar (Bosnia-Herzegovina) , Belgrade (Serbia) , Frankfurt, and Mainz(Germany) .
The program has been conducted over the following four stages:
The first stage was research and study of the tasks while the students were still in Japan,
i.e. prior to going to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia. From May to the end of August
2016, selected participants worked on questions assigned by each host organizationaccording to the student's career path. During this period, the GRM career support teamarranged special lectures and training programs in order to help prepare the participants
based on their individual needs.
As an example of the pre-camp classes, a lecture entitled ‘Peace Building and67

to put more effort and energy into expansion within our region?
Background: It is generally understood that, in the BiH conflict, the aggressors were the
Serbs and the victims were the Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) . However, there may havealso been some victims among the Bosnian Serbs. In such circumstances, how caninternational organizations reach and assist victims on both sides equally without causing
further conflict due to being “unfair” when providing humanitarian aid? Write a proposal
with reference to the OHR peacekeeping intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina and thehumanitarian activities of the JICA in Srebrenica.
Background: Western-style liberal peace building approaches have been frequently
introduced since the beginning of the 21st century. This type of approach often involves theimplementation of a standard package that includes several stages such as bringing about
the collapse of undemocratic regimes, setting up internationally-supported interim
governments, electing a constituent assembly, drafting a national constitution, holding
parliamentary elections, and establishing a new government based on election results.
However, such approaches to building peace based on the notion of ‘democratization’ haveoften failed. Bearing this in mind, what kinds of challenges have liberal peace building
approaches failed to deal with? What form of peace building model will be required in the
future?

GRM Global Career Development Program Report

International Organizations’ was held on 22 July 2016. During the class, Prof Nishikawa
Yukiko from Nagoya University provided her views on peace building in general byintroducing key terms and providing the fundamentals of peace building and the role,
challenges and lessons learnt by the UN in their peace building activities.
Beside the supporting classes, the students were also given the chance of visiting the
local offices of the host organizations in Tokyo and meeting representatives from theorganizations in order to deepen their understanding of the questions.
The second stage was the field visits and day-long “intensive internship” programs
outside of Japan which lasted from 3 to 12 September 2016. During this overseas part of
the GCDP, after gaining first-hand knowledge from visits to museums and other sites inAustria and Germany, and on the way to the final two locations of Bosnia and Belgrade,the students were assigned to their chosen institutions such as JICA, OHR (Office of theHigh Representative) in Bosnia and Serbia for field visits and internships.
The third stage was the student presentations which were held in Belgrade on the 13 and
14 September. After visiting the organizations and finishing their ‘intensive’ internships,
students presented their proposals to an audience from the host organizations in
Belgrade.
The final stage was the writing and publishing of the reports on their proposals. During
this conclusion to the program, participants from the three groups (private sector,
international organizations, and academia) , were also required to submit reports or
papers on their findings regarding the questions they had previously been given. The
relevant international organizations and companies were asked to submit their reports to
the GRM journal, and these were then summarized within the ‘Evaluation’ chapter of the
Global Resource Management report. Candidates pursuing an academic career are
required to instead submit their papers to the proceedings of a workshop held by
Doshisha University at IIPE. However, the proceedings, which are to be published by theend of the 2016 fiscal year, will not only include papers from the students, but also
workshop papers.
3. Evaluation
Based on the students’ reports, and the testimonials of the hosting organizations, it can besaid that the aims of the program have mainly been achieved.
It seems that the majority of the participants have been able to at least clarify their future
career paths, thanks to the guidance provided on the program by both the GRM
instructors and the staff of the hosting organizations. One student, who only had a vague
idea of her career before the program, said that if she were given the chance, she would
definitely work for the organization where she did her internship after graduation. This
was not only because the hosting organization encouraged her to apply for a job with

67

68

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

them in the future, but she was also very comfortable with the environment.
Another success of the program was that almost all of the students stated that they are
now more adept in the transferable skills that are often required when applying for a jobin the international workplace. Some of the skills that most students said that they had
been able to develop include communication skills, leadership, team work, multicultural
understanding, and so forth.
In addition, the reports of some students indicate that they feel that their initial personal
deficiency in some skills, including inadequate foreign language ability and poor teamwork skills, have improved during the program. This can be considered as a majorachievement by the program, as one of its aims in “providing opportunities for fieldpractice and the application of GRM education” was for the students to gain ’resource
management’ skills by becoming aware of how they were mutually supporting eachother. This is implicit in the name of the program: ‘Global Resource Management’, inthat the program allows a greater awareness of resources management in order to solve
problems.
Last but not least, there were suggested improvements for the program, such as using
time more effectively and reserving more time for internships etc. As far as possible,
these requests will be considered for implementation in future programs.

GRM Global Career Development Program Report

The Global Career Development Program
Private Company Group– The Mitsubishi Belgrade Liaison Office –Carada, Miriam Caryl

The task of the group was to provide an answer to a problem that was set by the
Mitsubishi Belgrade Liaison Office (BEG). The problem was how to attract the attentionof the Tokyo Main Office (TOK), given that TOK is currently focused on the Asian
region due to its growing population and large market.
The BEG office serves as the representative office of Mitsubishi Corporation in the
Balkan region. Its mission is to investigate the market, initiate business, connect local
companies’ to the global company, and support the German and UK Mitsubishi offices.
It must be said that as the Balkan region has a small market, it is not a current priority of
Mitsubishi Corporation, and the situation is likely to remain unchanged until at least the2020s. There is therefore no easy way to attract the attention of the TOK office.
However, BEG’s current projects would allow Mitsubishi to expand their market holdand increase brand recognition. That said, if we consider the characteristics of theBalkan countries given in the figure below, it might be risky to currently makeinvestments in Bosnia/Serbia and Montenegro. However, there seems to be no problem
in investing in other countries. Although risky to invest at the moment, Serbia’s status is
expected to improve as it is in the process of joining the EU.

69

70

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

The group discussed four points in order to answer BEG’s question:
1) There is an existing yen loan credit project that has been approved by TOK. Although
this is not an actual investment opportunity, if the BEG office produces good resultsthen TOK may pay more attention to them.
2) There is an on-going investment for an innovative technology from the BEG office thathas been approved by TOK. Once completed, this would provide a real boost for the
BEG office.
3) There is the possibility of using the Serbian connection with Russia to establish an MC>Serbia->Russia partnership.
4) The office should continue to expand market reach via its trading and distribution
businesses.
The first and second points are already on-going, while the third could be a new area tobe explored by BEG. The fourth, however, is a long term project.
The presence of the BEG office may not be particularly well recognized by TOK,
but the office is quite well recognized within the Europe and Africa region, especially by
the German and the UK offices. Expanding their market in the Balkan region andworking with the larger offices in the Europe and African region should eventually leadthe BEG office to gain better recognition by TOK, but as mentioned above, this is not
something that can be achieved via the short term application of a single initiative.
Miriam Caryl Carada
Graduate School of Global Studies
September 20, 2016
Word count of content: 451 words

GRM Global Career Development Program Report

Career Vision:
Revelations from the Global Career Development Program
September 20, 2016
Miriam Caryl Carada
Graduate School of Global Studies

The trip that we have undertaken was centered on career development for GRM
students such as myself, and gave us a peek of different career options from academia,
international organizations, and the corporate jungle. During the trip, I was able to get toknow myself better and learn more about my colleagues. The program enabled me torecognize some of my strengths, such as communication and leadership skills. I wasfortunate that my mentor at the Mitsubishi Belgrade Liaison office allowed me toaccompany him to a meeting with one of their toughest clients. During the meeting, I
was able to interact with the client, and afterwards I reported to my mentor myobservations and interpretations of the position of the client. According to my mentor, I
was able to analyze the clients’ sentiments precisely. My mentor was so happy that heeven told the general manager about the meeting. I also enjoyed working with my group,and think that they would agree that I somewhat took on the role of the leader. This wasparticularly true during the times when we were rather in a pinch and I took the lead tohelp organize our thoughts, thus enabling us to work more efficiently and achieve better
results due to my encouragement and belief in my team. I cannot think of anything that I
lacked that could have helped me during the course of the program, as I felt completely
comfortable within the environment, particularly in regards to the set-up of thecompany.
In all honesty, if I had been given a chance to work in any one of the organizations
that we have visited, I would have picked the Mitsubishi Belgrade Liaison office. This is
not only because they suggested that I apply to work for them in the future (which I will
really consider), but also because I felt so comfortable within the environment. The
office is comprised of a small number of extremely talented people, and there is a good
sense of camaraderie. The work conducted in the office is both very interesting andchallenging. I’m sure that it’s an environment where I would never be bored and it
would allow extensive self-development as I wouldn’t be tied to the office and would be
able to interact with many different people, groups and companies. It is also a place
where innovation is welcome and personnel growth is encouraged. I also have theimpression that the staff in the office have a good work life balance.

71

GRM Global Career Development Program Report

GCDP Report
Ai Kotera
QE, Global Resource Management Program
PhD student, School of Global Studies
September 30, 2016

1. Career Vision(1) I have strong personal communication skills. More specifically, I am able to naturally
communicate with the person themselves, rather than in terms of their position.
While I understand that there are both advantages and disadvantages of this, it has atleast worked out during my conversations with my mentor and another local intern,
as I was able to get great tips on the attitude to adopt when striking a balance
between work and family life with small kids. This later helped me to be more open
to various job options.
(2) I would like to emphasize two of my personal qualities. Firstly, as I am a very precise
speaker, I am not very good at improvising immediate responses. I therefore findthat I don’t have relevant questions and comments until one hour after everythinghas finished. This deficiency was revealed at The Office of the High Representative(OHR) and during the JICA fieldtrip. Secondly, I find that I am more inclined toindividuality rather than to collectivity, so I noticed I tend to hesitate when making
proposals for the group. I therefore enjoyed Marwa’s leadership during one
enjoyable evening in Sarajevo very much, and she inspired me to become a person
who is able to listen to the wishes of the group, determine the best plan, and clearlypresent it.
(3) I think I am most attracted to jobs relating to OHR projects. This does not mean that
I am actually thinking of working for OHR, due to the regional nature of theinstitution, but I did like its international atmosphere and the bureaucratic side of
their work. I prefer to work in offices, so it is not necessary for me to go into thefield as development workers have to do. Realistically speaking, I can imagine
myself working in a Japanese embassy. As I have many friends who work as
diplomats, one of whom I met during the trip, I can say that I generally share similarvalues of life with diplomats and feel comfortable in their presence, as I value thepeople I work with, rather than factors such as fame, payment, job description. Thatsaid, I plan to stay in academia, and have begun to consider what type of academic
job would be right for me, especially after visiting IIPC. I feel that perhaps I would

73

74

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

prefer working as a professor in education, research, and administration, to a pureresearch job.
2. Proposed Summary to the Question Assigned by Mitsubishi Corporation
During my contribution to the group presentation, I proposed the possibility of making
use of the international network that Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) has developed aroundthe world to attract greater attention by Tokyo headquarters to the Belgrade liaison
office. MC experienced a remarkable fall in profits due to the sudden decline in theprices of natural resources, which had for years contributed to sustaining MC’s
prominent status among Japanese trading houses. The business management of MC is
now at the phase of revising and relaunching its goals in order to overcome this setback.
This is being done under the leadership of a new president who was officially assigned
in June this year. According to the 2015-2018 midterm strategic report, MC will
systematically revise its current investments. Over the next three years, they areplanning to allow a decrease in or maintaining the amount of profit gained from natural
resources, while increasing that obtained from consumer products. Furthermore, MC willconcentrate more on profitable areas and regions, especially focusing on Asian business
opportunities.
Clearly there will not be able to instantly solve this problem. However, we can assume
that propositions which deal with larger investments and require lower assessment costs
might be considered “easier” in the eyes of Tokyo headquarters. We suggest that theenergy business in Balkan region would be one such business proposal. One of the most
famous businesses that MC has operated for decades is the extraction of oil and natural
gas in Sakhalin in cooperation with Gazprom, a semi-national Russian corporation
which also provides energy in Ex-Yugoslavian states through its subsidiary.
Geopolitically, the Balkan region is influenced by Russia and Europe. While theEuropean influence is more visible, as can be seen in the discussion of EU accession,
there is strong support for Russian policy on the part of Serbian elites and society. This isbecause traditional pro-Russian attitudes have been strengthened as a result of a series of
Russia-inspired, wide-ranging soft power initiatives. These have proved so successfulthat a large part of society has begun to believe that Russia’s interests are consistent with
Serbia’s.
We therefore propose a business model based on a Russia-MC-Serbia partnership. As
such a proposal is a form of extension of the existing partnership, Tokyo headquarters
would be less hesitant on spending time, energy and human resources on accessing it.
The strength of this idea is that it builds upon the valuable quality of MC: the cultivationof long held traditions and the development of a worldwide network through sincere
business attitudes.

GRM Global Career Development Program Report

GCDP2016 Report〜 Global Career Camp Findings 〜
Masao Nakagawa
Submission date: 9/26 /2016
Student ID: 4G161504

I would first like to express my sincere appreciation to Professor Tsukimura,
Professor Idris, Professor Iwasaka, Professor Ueda, GRM staff and my wonderfulcolleagues for this great experience and amazing opportunity. While this trip related to“Peacebuilding” after conflict in Ex-Yu countries, which is a different area and majorfrom my own, the experience and knowledge I gained from the journey have proveninvaluable. I have to admit that I had negative images of the Balkan region before thejourney began and was rather afraid of going, but I now admit that I was wrong. I haverealized that the actual places are completely different from those described in thearticles I had read. It is certainly a wonderful region where many different cultures coexist. Throughout my entire journey, I kept wishing that I had studied the historicalbackground of the Balkan region as it could have helped me a lot in my exploration andunderstanding of all kinds of discoveries.
It was a great honor for me to learn that Japan had supported the region in public
transportation (i.e. buses) and via several other JICA projects. Although the projects
seem very worthy, they struck me as lacking a concrete overall vision; and the methodsof implementation did not always seem to be in harmony with the local culture. Pleaseexcuse me for being so frank, but I did not find the working environment in aninternational organization appealing. No matter how smart the members of staff are, it
seemed that their work cannot be very effective as they do not have enough informationand they seem to be rather isolated in their work. All of this made me lose interest in
working for an international organization. I was also very discouraged that the people I
met in the organization appeared to be indifferent to me when I introduced my major –mechanical engineering, while they continued to listen to other members. Furthermore, I
found the discussions and Q&A sessions with staff from International Organizations tobe quite boring because I felt that their way of thinking was rather illogical. Certainly,
my lack of knowledge might be one of the reasons for me reaching this conclusion, butthey did not provide answers in terms of MECE. That confused me even more, and didseem to suggest that their projects might be rather inefficient.
However, my experience during my one-day office visit was that the Mitsubishi
people were really bright and that they helped and inspired each other. I was also

75

76

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

impressed by their logic. While the people from the international organizations did not
admit it when they did not know something, Mitsubishi people willingly did and asked
others for help. During the office visit, we took part in a weekly meeting, and attended
several presentations about what Belgrade liaison office were doing and other related
matters. The members of our group were also able to have individual discussions witheach mentor for nearly four hours. In my case, it was similar to an interview with apotential job-seeker. The discussion was very well-planned, and so I could quickly grasp
the concepts. To be honest, that type of business interview was new to me, but I foundout that it followed the same logic as the content of the training on my PhD course. The
discussion was a great opportunity for me to check my own abilities, as well as toimprove my knowledge and skills. My mentor, Mr. Dejan, and I discussed mattersrelating to my questions about the basic problems they were facing. We identified theessential idea which had to be kept in mind throughout the group work: In order to makea precise analysis and proper proposal, it is very important to have a clear problem
statement and succinct, realistic objectives. Based on our findings, we also could
conclude that the liaison office considered headquarters as being their customer, and so
prepared as many preparatory projects as possible in order to respond to customer needs
in a timely and responsive manner.
Furthermore, I was very glad to have been able to be a team harmonizer in thisexperience. I had often been group leader who decided on the directions that should betaken, but this time, I could contribute to my team in the role of a supporter. In doing
this, I discussed the issues with my mentor, confirmed their situation and what theywanted us to do. I then provided the information to my team members, helped tomaximize their potential and develop their ideas. Although I was not satisfied with ourpresentation due to there being insufficient time for group discussion, having tocomplete our work in such a short time acted as a confidence building course. I wasreally happy that the members of staff at Mitsubishi were satisfied with our work.
Through my experience, I can say without hesitation that the ideal work environment for
graduates is the competitive business environment of Mitsubishi or another businessconsulting firm with a similar level of motivation and inspiration. Since the mostcompetitive businesses will be the ones that fully utilize technology, I will try my best to
work in such an environment as it will allow me to enhance my knowledge and skills aswell as stay fully motivated. This will hopefully ensure that I will be able to contribute to
the world through my work with such wonderful colleagues.

GRM Global Career Development Program Report

The Role of International Organizations in War-affected Countries—The Case of JICA’s Interventions in Bosnia and Herzegovina—
Tasuku OHASHI
Student ID: 4I161202
Doshisha University Graduate School of Global Studies
Advanced Doctoral Program in Global Resource Management (GRM)
Report on the GRM Global Career Development Program (GCDP)
30 September, 2016

I. Career Vision(1) Individual skills which were utilized during the program
By utilizing my socio-psychological research experience, I was able to contributeby posing several important questions to aid workers (e.g. JICA and municipal officers
in Srebrenica), and recipients of each of the aid/development projects we encounteredduring the program. For example, in Srebrenica, I asked two municipal officers whatkinds of situations, and how often, people from different entities and ethnicities
communicate with each other in daily life situations during the confidence building
projects conducted by several international organizations after the war. The answer I was
given was that among the different ethnicities, people are still traumatized and thus
continue to make distinctions between each other, meaning that communication
opportunities are very limited. My conversation therefore allowed us to understand thereal situation that exists in war-affected areas, and how difficult confidence building is.
We also learned from my questions that trauma and fewer opportunities forcommunication are now having an influence on local historical education.
(2) Abilities which were developed by the program
The program gave us many opportunities to introduce ourselves to distinguishedguest speakers and lecturers (e.g. diplomats, business workers, researchers and NGO
officers). Before I attended this program, I was not very good at introducing my own
background and research interests. However, the trip allowed me to gradually become
more able to introduce myself efficiently. When I met Japanese diplomats in Sarajevo, I
was able to outline my research outline well, and thus gain the opportunity to fruitfully
discuss BiH issues in depth.
(3) Organizations which I would like to work for
Based on our trip to the Balkan region, now I understand that the activities of some

77

78

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

international organizations (such as JICA) are highly influenced by their national
government’s policy. It seemed difficult to attain flexibility and work freely within eachinternational organization due to the complex political backgrounds and conflicts of eachstakeholder. Therefore, if I were given the chance to work for one of organizations
which we visited, then I would choose to work for Mitsubishi Corporation. Fromlistening to the experiences several students had while working in Mitsubishi, I
concluded that Mitsubishi’s business is sustainable and directly connects to local
communities, while contributing to the benefit of society at large. This is closely alignedwith my own desires.
II. Summary of my proposal to the question assigned during group work
The task we were assigned was to decide how to achieve an equality based
approach of international organizations’ interventions in post-war countries. Our group’s
objectives were (1) to understand JICA’s approach to peace building projects in relation
to reconciliation within a divided context (2)to understand the strengths andshortcomings of JICA’s peace building as a third party intervener in BiH. In order tocreate a proposal, we visited a bee-keeping and a vegetable farm, which were part of
JICA confidence building and rural development project in Srebrenica. The trip led us toseveral important findings. First, there are persistent avoidance and distrust among
different ethnic members. In addition, hopelessness is deeply rooted in local politicalstructure. Secondly, in several cases, benefits gained by the project tend to only reachmono-ethnic groups (i.e. there is mono-ethnic rather than multiethnic implementation).
Thirdly, it seemed important to build an aid system which consists of and is integrated
by a bottom-up/people-centered process and a government to government (G2G)
approach. Fourthly, good governance (to protect accountability and transparency) is aserious issue in local government units in Srebrenica. Fifth, because of the future
withdrawal of JICA from Srebrenica and the decrease in the numbers of the young
generation of the area, there are issues in regard to the sustainability and potential futureof the project. Sixth, it seemed that the best way to proceed was to try and solve
difficulties in the bureaucratic structure of donors to build a more efficient information
system and increase the flexibility for each officer. Seventh, mutual empowerment isrequired, not only within the recipient community, but also for local government units
and international donors.
As a recommendation to achieve an equality based approach for intervention in
post-war countries, I have six suggestions. First, intra and intergroup confidencebuilding is required in BiH. Second, good governance should be facilitated through ahorizontal decision making process at all levels. Third, through an improved election
system, the issue of how citizens participate with G2G should be considered in politics.

GRM Global Career Development Program Report

Fourth, the empowerment of community based development mechanisms (e.g.
promoting civil society organizations) should be promoted to protect the accountability
and transparency of each aid/development project. Fifth, each donor and assistanceagency should discern between the societal complexity of micro and macro levels forholistic remedies. Sixth, common history and peace building education should be
discussed and built by every stakeholder. While it is a difficult task to protect equality inaid projects, these suggested points are a meaningful way to achieve it in any waraffected country.

79

GRM Global Career Development Program Report

GCDP Report
Sabur, Ekraj
Deadline: End of September 2016
Length: 800 words in total
Should be comprised of two parts
Language: English

1) Career vision (400 words)
The following questions should be answered:(1) Which of your skills were better compared to those of others on the program?
Explain why you think so, giving an example of a concrete occasion or action.
The ability to investigate is one of the stronger qualities I have which I have been able
to further improve during the program. During my interaction with the local officers andbeneficiaries in the field in Srebrenica and other locations visited, several questions
naturally sprung to mind thanks to the library research and the pre-program session
where we had the chance to discuss issues with the JICA officer in Tokyo. These
questions allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the complex problems involvedin programs carried out in the field, including challenges in the implementation of
measures on the ground that are encountered by both field staff and beneficiaries, as wellas the difficulties experienced by JICA’s officers in Balkan headquarters in Belgrade andtheir uneasy relationship with bureaucrats and policy makers in Tokyo. These analyticalskills were necessary in connecting the varied pieces of information gathered. Thisawareness enabled me to comprehend complicated situations, as well as the mindsets ofkey stakeholders in the conflict. It was not easy to understand the whole situation withinsuch a short period of time; therefore certain other skills are also required to acquire theholistic picture. An ability to listen carefully is one of the key qualities necessary forpeace workers. Aside from the basic information obtained verbally, I was also able tocompare what I learned within the context of the post war situation, and that pain andtrauma remains fresh in the mind of the local populace. These factors determine the way
ideas are expressed and mean that words cannot always be taken literally. It is for thisreason that my ability to read facial expressions and physical gestures was important,because by doing so, I could sense the emotions behind the words and could determine
the intentions of each stakeholder. Applying all of these skills in combination enable anappreciation of the micro-macro, personal, inter personal, structural and culturaldimensions of the situation.

81

82

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3(2) Which ability or abilities would have allowed you to benefit from the program more?
Explain your opinion by giving the example of a specific occasion.
Although I believe that I have good presentation skills, I am aware of my shortcomings,
such as the speed of my oral presentation possibly hindering the ability of an audience tounderstand. This comes from a fear that all the information I want to give might not bedelivered within the allotted time, and this is the area that I am constantly striving to
improve. Another possible hindrance is my deficient IT skills which meant that most of
the time I was reliant on my teammate, Ohashi san, to create images on Power Point
slides. Had I been more able, I might have been able to better assist him in the
preparation of our presentation.
(3) If you were given the chance of working for one of the organizations that you visited
during the program, which one you would want to work for? Explain why
I’m most interested in working with OHR as it is the key entity governing Bosnia andHerzegovina, and the one with the most influence over the Bosnian government. While
recognizing the need of OHR’s presence, it is undeniable that the situation of politicaldeadlock is caused by the legacy of international roles and extreme intervention. It istherefore important to create a supportive environment where locals can gain ownershipand genuine rights to make their own decisions in a collective manner. This must be
done in a way that would not jeopardize national integrity, and which emphasizes therole of the international community as a supporter rather than the body that is exercising
power. In short, change within the entity is required and it is only through working with
the OHR that change is possible.
2) Summary of your proposal to the question assigned to your group (400 words)
Based on our findings in the field, we witnessed several contradictions between thepolicy paper and the implementation on the ground. It is obvious that JICA has
established good cooperation with Serbs, and hence the only beneficiaries we met were
Serbs, which didn’t reflect the equality based policies of JICA. JICA also claimed that
their projects engaged all ethnic groups, but none of the projects we visited, except playroom, contained elements of inter-ethnic cooperation. It can, of course, be problematic tofoster trust, but even if efforts fail, projects should not deviate from the original intentionof fostering ties and destroying prejudices among the ethno religious communities. Ourconversations with the local Serbs reflected profound hard feelings that they havetowards other ethnic groups, and this reminds us of the necessity to increase our efforts.
Our proposal on the question of equity and harmony would be to start with an intra

GRM Global Career Development Program Reportgroup program which would help build confidence within each ethnic community, thus
helping them comprehend the problems they face and recognize the need to work withothers to go beyond their images of the enemy and transform the inaccurate beliefs
which may currently disempower them. After each entity is ready to cooperate,interethnic programs will become powerful tools to help each group discover the hidden
prejudices they may have about other groups, and foster cooperation and reconstruction,
as well as the deconstruction of inner prejudices. Dialogue which deals with difficult andsensitive issues, such as memory and history, is absolutely necessary. This is not toconvert others, but to foster understanding and empathy so that all groups become able
to live amidst diversity. It is only through the recognition of truth that the apologies canbe given which initiate the foundation of true reconciliation. If this does not occur, thenthere is likely to be reeruption of violence fueled by such prejudiced memories.
Dialogue also helps all parties reassemble the pieces of the jigsaw required to enablemutual understanding of the societal challenges. This needs to occur so that members
can strategize their actions and mutually cooperate to solve the underlying causes ofproblems. There is also a need to develop public infrastructure and organization forparties to become unified, organized and attain the self reliance of addressing theirproblems in a sustainable way by utilizing existing resources within the community, andworking as equal partners with other agencies, including international organizations andlocal government. Doing so will also enhance good governance, which is characterizedby mutual participation, transparency and accountability.

83

GRM Global Career Development Program Report

GCDP Report
CHEN Yan (GS, D1)

My career vision:
1.

Most GRM members demonstrated their outstanding communication andpresentation skills during this program, and this provided a great opportunity for us
to learn from each other. I personally think the ability to take the initiative is thecharacteristic that distinguishes me from the group.
On the day we arrived in Vienna, the bus driver did not show up at the airport
so we had to wait for someone to pick us up. The professors tried very hard to findout what had happened for about one and a half hours, while students waited andchatted. During this time, I kept myself up to date on any developments with theprofessors, checked several times with some of my colleagues to make sure that thedriver was not in the hall, and we even tried to ask the information desk to make anannouncement to help us find the driver.
It was a little thing indeed, but it reflected an important way of thinking. When
acting as a team, each of us, no matter if we were professors, organizers or
participants, have the responsibility to engage in the unexpected problems that we
encountered. It doesn’t mean that we should all act on our own initiatives and movein different directions; instead, we collect all the alternatives so we could make thebest decision.

2.

I need to improve my English.
My inadequate English speaking and writing skills have been a weakness forme for a long time. Since I am not very good at this language, I cannot always
completely understand what other people say, or express myself 100% correctly. As
there are misunderstandings during both the input and output stages,
communication is not usually very efficient, and I cannot debate with people as I
would wish. However, I have been working on this problem by taking classes anddoing the language exchange, so hopefully, I will improve my language skill
gradually.

3.

I would like to join JICA if possible.
By talking to the JICA local staff in Srebrenica, I got to know what it is like towork in the field as a member of staff in organizations such as JICA. Instead of

85

86

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

doing paperwork in the office far away from the field, it would suit me better if I
could live within the field and liaise daily with local people. Under such conditions,
I would be more energetic and creative, as I would use my natural initiative tochange conditions if they are not satisfactory. Working with the recipientsthemselves is preferable for me because I like to see that my work has improved
other people’s lives.
The research topic assigned to the academic group is to try to find a new model toreplace the current ‘Liberal’ model in the peace building process. My proposals are as
follows:
1.

There is no ideal model that would fit all of the peace building processes in different
countries & regions. A simplified peacebuilding planning process could besummarized as follows: the first task is to find out what people in the post-conflictcountries & regions need in terms of peace building, and the second is to findsolutions according to the results of the first step. I believe this is what UN
peacebuilding missions were meant to do, but it seems that they are sometimes
guilty of applying the ‘Liberal’ model too slavishly. The merit of applying thismodel is obvious: most of the contents could be quantified thus it’s easier to assessand compare. And to some extent, the values and the efficiency it might have could
meet the expectancy of main donors and the public. However, the implementationof the model itself shouldn’t become the purpose other than the method; that is a
trap to all the result oriented, quantitatively examined processes. On the other hand,peacebuilding is a gradual process, it takes the time to heal the pain in the heart andalleviate the hostility towards each other.

2.

The importance of economic recovery and development need to be recognized by
the leaders of post-conflict countries & regions. In the process of pursuing external
political independence and internal social stability, economic independence andprosperity are indispensable. Economic depression is directly connected to
unemployment, poverty and social unrest, which could easily trigger or rekindle theconflict. Pressure and unrest may come from international and domestic society, but
in terms of improving the welfare of all the citizens, economic development isessential. In the long run, redistribution of wealth and resources is another way todiminish the social problems which lead to conflict.

3.

For civil societies and individuals which are working to build peace, education might
be the best way to build a long-lasting peace. According to what we learned in the

GRM Global Career Development Program Report

Balkans, hatred among different ethnic groups is escalating in the younger
generation rather than in the older ones, which implies that education to create
peace in this area is not very successful. Emphasizing the differences between races
or religions does not help peace education. Peace builders, especially peaceeducators, must have an insight into peace itself in order to understand the essenceof wars and human beings, along with knowledge of international contexts andcultural diversity. The people in the post-conflict countries & regions is going toplay the leading role of peace building in the future, that’s why it’s important forthem to learn about peace.

87

GRM Global Career Development Program Report

GCDP Report
Xiao Liu
Doctoral Program in Commercial Science, Doshisha University

Part 1
1. Communication Skills
I believe that my communication skills are better than those of the otherparticipants on the program. I don’t mean that my ability in English is better than theothers; it’s rather that I speak more because I really enjoy talking with people fromdifferent backgrounds. For example, during the trip I had long conversations with Mr.
Jankovic from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, professors from Belgrade
University and researchers from IIPE. I also made many friends from Austria,
Switzerland, Serbia and Bosnia.
2. Multicultural Understanding
Multicultural understanding in this context means understanding amongst my GRM
friends who come from different countries such as the Philippines, Thailand, Lebanon,
Japan, South Korea and China, as well as international organizations, governments andcorporations. For example, along with some of the GRM students: Ek from Thailand,
Marwa from Lebanon and Koki from Japan, we independently arranged a visit to thehouse of the leader of the Islamic Relief Worldwide in Sarajevo. Through this visit, I
realized the importance of understanding different cultural backgrounds.
3. University of Belgrade
If I were given the chance of working for one of the organizations that we visited
during the program, I would like to work at the University of Belgrade. There are several
reasons for this. Firstly, I enjoy studying and sharing knowledge with others in auniversity environment. Secondly, I think that academic exchanges, such as the meetingthat took place between Belgrade University and Doshisha University, are fantastic.
Thirdly, I would be able to make the best use of my communication skills at Belgrade
University to promote further academic exchanges with universities in Japan, China andother countries.
Part 2
My proposed answer to the question assigned to my group
Our group’s question was what kind of peace building model will be required in the

89

90

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

future, and my proposed answer is to develop community-based pro-poor tourism. As
poverty reduction is an important issue in peace building, I would like to propose anapproach based on tourism to solve this problem.
According to UNWTO, an ever-increasing number of destinations worldwide haveopened up to and invested in tourism, turning it into a key driver of socio-economic
progress through the creation of jobs and enterprises, export revenues, and infrastructuredevelopment. Over the past six decades, tourism has experienced continued expansion
and diversification, and has now become one of the largest and fastest-growing
economic sectors in the world. This has meant that many new destinations have emergedin addition to the traditional favorites of Europe and North America.
Despite occasional setbacks, tourism has shown virtually uninterrupted growth.
International tourist arrivals have increased from 25 million globally in 1950, to 278
million in 1980, 527 million in 1995, and 1133 million in 2014. Likewise, income earned
by international tourism destinations worldwide have surged from US$ 2 billion in 1950
to US$ 104 billion in 1980, US$ 415 billion in 1995 and US$ 1245 billion in 2014.
Moreover, international tourist arrivals worldwide are expected to increase by 3.3%
a year between 2010 and 2030, to reach 1.8 billion by 2030, according to UNWTO’slong term forecast Tourism Towards 2030. Between 2010 and 2030, arrivals in emerging
destinations (+4.4% a year) are expected to increase at twice the rate of those inadvanced economies (+2.2% a year). The market share of emerging economies increased
from 30% in 1980 to 45% in 2014, and is expected to reach 57% by 2030, equivalent toover 1 billion international tourist arrivals.
The definition of pro-poor tourism is a form of tourism that increases economic
benefits, enhances the impacts on non-financial livelihoods and enhances participation or
partnership for the poor. But the definition of the poor in the field of pro-poor tourism is
not clear. There are many definitions of poverty, but in my proposal, I use the definitionof being at the “base of the pyramid”, which means people whose annual income isbelow 3000 dollars (2002 PPP). Moreover, the research I conducted in my previous
studies in China from the perspective of business management is insufficient.
The fieldwork I conducted was in two tourism areas in Shandong Province, China
in March, May and August. My aim was to explore the Chinese experience of pro-poor
tourism. The two tourist areas I studied are different from each other. One is called
Erlong Mountain, and is owned locally, while the other one, Zhuquan Village, is not. The
Erlong Mountain Tourism Corporation has been created by local people as acommunity-based organization, allowing locals to reap the benefits of the corporation.
On the other hand, Zhuquan Village has been developed and is managed by acorporation outside of the community.
That said, Zhuquan Village Tourism Corporation is marketing the site very well,GRM Global Career Development Program Reportespecially in terms of online promotion. Both cases are part of a market-based approachwithin a liberal model. However, community-based tourism can lead to local people
benefitting from the bottom-up. Economic development is an important part of peacebuilding, as the tourism sector can create many business opportunities for local people,
especially the poor. This is because local people can directly utilize their own houses as
restaurants or hotels for tourists.
In conclusion, I believe that community-based pro-poor tourism is a good approachto reduce poverty and build peace. I found from the Chinese experience that communitybased pro-poor tourism can allow local people to reap the benefits, and as long as local
people work on developing their business know-how, economic sustainability can beachieved.

91

93

Contributors
Carada, Miriam Caryl:

Doctoral Student, Graduate School of Global Studies,
Doshisha University

Chen, Yan:

Doctoral Student, Graduate School of Global Studies,
Doshisha University

Danismaz, Idiris:

Assistant Professor, Institute of Advanced Research and
Education, Organization for Advanced Research and
Education, Doshisha University

Kotera, Ai:

Doctoral Student, Graduate School of Global Studies,
Doshisha University

Liu, Xiao:

Doctoral Student, Graduate School of Commercial Science,
Doshisha University

Nakagawa, Masao:

Doctoral Student, Graduate School of Science andEngineering, Doshisha University

Ohashi, Tasuku:

Doctoral Student, Graduate School of Global Studies,
Doshisha University

Sabur, Ekraj:

Doctoral Student, Graduate School of Global Studies,
Doshisha University

Suarez, Beverly:

Doctoral Student, Graduate School of Science andEngineering, Doshisha University

Global Resource Management ジャーナル Vol. 3

編集・発行者

印刷所

2017 年 3 月

印刷2017 年 3 月

発行

同志社大学高等研究教育機構〒 602-8580 京都市上京区今出川通烏丸東入
電話：（075）251-3259
E-mail：ji-grmld@mail.doshisha.ac.jp
URL：http://grm.doshisha.ac.jp/index.html
株式会社 田中プリント